If It Kills Me
by ele05gs
Summary: A tragedy that joins them. A tragedy that can tear them apart. Will she find out? Does he really know it was his fault? Is love strong enough to survive it all? -AH- ** CURRENTLY ON HIATUS **
1. Chapter 1: Beginnings

**Disclaimer: SM owns it all. I'm just borrowing it, no ****copyright infringement **** intended  


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**A/N: Hey! This is my very first attempt at writing so... be nice? Beforehand, I apologize for my English, because it is not my official language, but writing in Spanish just didn't fit. I also apologize for the beginning, I just didn't know how to start. OK, that's it, I hope you like it! :)**

(Edit)** Now I thank IChimpz for beta'ing this chapter for me! You are amazing, bb!  
**

**Enjoy!

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**If It Kills Me**

**Summary:**"No, no!" I shouted, tears pouring down my face. "You're a liar! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"No, Bella..." he said, his arms stretching up towards me." I didn't know..." his eyes were wide with horror.

I flinched away from him. "I hate you, Edward Cullen, " I whispered, and then everything went black.

**Chapter 1: Beginnings.**

Yes, I'm Isabella Marie Swan. I'm 17 years old and I live in this rainy town of Forks. My life, since yesterday, seemed to be perfect. OK, perfect might be an overreaction. My life was.... bearable? I think _that_ suits.

I was happy, or the happiest life would let me be.

Even though I live in this little town where you never get to see the sun, I was quite happy living with my father. I had a normal life, taking out the fact that I was probably the clumsiest person on Earth.

I went to Forks High Institute; I had a few friends, and a best friend, Jacob.

Jacob was probably the best part of my life. We did everything together. Every free second I had, I tried to spend it with him.

He was a great guy. He still is, I guess. I haven't seen him in a while.

I live with my father, Charlie; he's the Chief of Police. He's a great father but a terrible cook. Don't misunderstand me, I love cooking for him, it just makes me wonder how he survived all those years without me or my mother to cook for him.

_My mother_. I sighed at her memory.

When I was still a kid, I used to live here, in this very town, till my mother took me away with her to Phoenix.

I lived with her until she got married again. Phil, her new husband, was a good person. Quite funny if you ask me. They were happy, that much was obvious to anyone. He was a baseball player, which means he traveled a lot and every time he had to go I noticed my mum's sadness. She, most of the time, had to stay with me; therefore she couldn't go with him very often. She always told me it was OK, that I didn't need to worry, but I did.

My mother had always seemed to me as a teenager trapped in an adult's body. I always took care of her. This never bothered me, not a bit. I loved my mother no matter what, and that's probably why I decided to leave in the first place, move back to Forks and live with Charlie so she could travel with Phil.

By now you might be wondering why I keep using the past tense, well, I'll tell you…

I had an accident, or so they tell me.

Everything stared almost a month ago...

_My mum convinced my father to take me to Phoenix for her birthday and after a long discussion she decided she would pick me up in Forks and we would go, by car, with Phil a few days before her birthday._

"_Drive safe_,"_ Charlie shouted from the door. We were ready to leave. I locked my seatbelt and waved him goodbye till he was out of sight._

_The car drive was going to be long,_very_long, but my mother thought it was better that way so I agreed._

"_So, Bella…" she started. We were barely leaving the state limits and this was the first time she had spoken since we left home. "…how are things going in Forks? Have a lot of friends?"_

_This was weird, she seemed nervous. "Yeah, I have a few ," I said. "Angela is one of my best friends at school, she's really nice ,"_

_"Oh, that's good, " she answered. For some reason she still seemed nervous. I guess it was just because of the ride._

"_There also is Jacob," I continued in order to calm her, even if it was just a little. "You remember Jacob, don't you? I told you about him, he's Billy Black's son..? " I trailed off._

"_Oh yeah! Jacob" she said enthusiastically. "Billy's son! How could I forget?" She paused and seemed hesitant "So… is he… your… boyfriend?"_

"_No!" I said too quickly and a little too loud for my liking_." _He's, um… he's my best friend_, just_that." I made sure she heard the "just" loudly and clearly because, even though I liked Jacob, a lot, he was never going to be more than just a friend to me. Not that I wanted him to be more, I definitely didn't._

_After that we just had a very casual conversation, we talked about everything and nothing at the same time. Phil started telling us his little jokes and a while after that I end up falling asleep._

_When I woke up again, it was already dark, I could see the stars. It was a beautiful night. My mum and Phil had their hands intertwined; they were silent for a while. That was when I felt it. It was something strange, bad-strange. I knew something was wrong. I just didn't know_what_was wrong._

You probably just need some more sleep_, I said inwardly._

_I tried to sleep, believe me, but it didn't work. I still had the strange feeling inside me_

_"Mum?" I asked. I was starting to think that going by car was a very bad idea. It was not the most comfortable thing out there, if you ask me._

"_Yes?" she answered in a distracted voice._

"_How long, mum? I'm tired already. "I think I was feeling slightly annoyed too._

_"A while longer sweetie, " she said with a reassuring smile. It didn't convince me and I think she knew that because she immediately added, "Don't worry honey; we'll stop soon on a hotel to get some sleep. By dawn we should be leaving again"_

"_OK, but at what time will we be there?" I probably sounded like a stubborn child, but I didn't care anymore._

_"Around noon, probably, " she answered cautiously, like I was going to freak out or something. I'll admit, I was about to, but Phil cut me before I could say a word._

_"Maybe we shouldn't stop at all, " he said. _

_"What?" my mum said. "You need to rest, Phil. You can't stay all the time driving without getting any sleep_."_ Her voice was worried._

_"Yes, it's OK. We should stop; you need to sleep a little." The least I wanted in that moment was for them to start arguing, it was not even close to a fight but I didn't want to be the cause of problems between them._

_"No, Bella. It's fine. I'm OK. I can make it till Phoenix." he said. My mum was eyeing him skeptically. "Really, honey,_"_ he told her, looking into her eyes. "I'll sleep when we get there. That way we will arrive earlier and you know, the weather would be warmer_."

_That seemed to convince my mother because she sighed and nodded._

_It was past midnight when I woke up. I hadn't even realized I had fallen asleep._

_I stayed there in silence, submerged in my thoughts, till that strange feeling was back. This time it was stronger, but I couldn't decide anymore whether it was good or bad. It seemed to be both at the same time._

_That was when I saw…_

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**A/N: Sorry, cliffhanger! :) If it's too short let me know!  
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**As I said, is the very first time I try writing so be nice! :) Hope you liked it and thanks for reading!**

**I would love to know what to you think, no matter what! what do you think will happen next? **

**Please review! :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Blackouts

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to SM, I'm just borrowing her characters, no copyright infringement intended.

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****A/N: Chapter 2 is up! I decided I didn't want to make you guys wait, so here it is! **

**Thank you to my amazing beta IChimpz!  
**

**Enjoy and please review!

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**Chapter 2: Blackouts.**

_Then was when I saw… something._

That's when my memory stops. I remember something coming towards us, but it's not clear, it's like a blur. Nothing is defined, and it's very frustrating, exasperating even.

Having black outs is getting on my nerves. No one tells me anything. Charlie stays with me, probably a minute and then he leaves. Every time I wake up it's the same thing.

All I know is that I had to stay more than two weeks sedated, because my injuries were too severe. And when I finally wake up, they simply don't talk to me.

I know Charlie is worried, but he's avoiding me. There is something he doesn't want to tell me. I _know_ it.

When he senses I'm going to ask, even the smallest of a question, he excuses himself and leaves the room.

It's been _maybe_ two days since I woke up for the first time, I can't know for sure, I keep waking up and sleeping right after it.

I remember the first time I woke up almost clearly...

_I woke up to the beeping of a machine._

_Every inch of my body hurt like hell. I couldn't open my eyes, I couldn't move. I tried with all my force to open my eyes or to move my hand, but the blackness was overpowering, I was losing consciousness._

No, Bella, you are stronger than that!_I told myself. I knew I was, but I couldn't find the will in me to fight back._

"_Bella?" Oh, I knew that voice; it's my father's voice._

Fight back Bella!_Said the voice inside my head and so I did._

_When I finally opened my eyes I saw Charlie, looking at me with big red puffy eyes. He had the look of total desperation on his face which didn't make sense at all, not for me at least._

"_What…" I started, but immediately stopped. My own voice shocked me; it was hoarse and pained, like I hadn't spoken in months. "What's going on?" I tried again. It was still wrong and I didn't like it._

_"You don't remember, Bella? The ac--" the nurse that came in that moment cut him off._

_"Time for the medicine, honey. You will feel better soon," she said with a small smile on her face. I was thankful to that because, God, it hurt!_

_I looked at my father and my face must have shown the pain I was feeling because Charlie's face fell again._

"_It's OK, Bells. Get some rest; I'll be here when you wake up. I promise." He said, his voice full of emotions. It was almost as if he wanted to cry, but he was holding it back._

_Minutes after that the medicine made effect and I was taken by unconsciousness, once again._

_Waking up the next time was easier, less... painful. Charlie was still sitting next to me, sleeping._

_I took that time to think about what had happened. I couldn't remember why I was in the Hospital. It honestly didn't shock me, I probably spend more time at the Hospital than at home, but it was never like this._

Maybe you fell from a cliff,_said the voice inside my head._

_Maybe I did, but what still didn't make sense was the look on Charlie's face. He had looked torn, as if_he_was the one broken, instead of me. I know, he's my father, he worries about me, but he seemed pained and I didn't understand it. But I would. Soon._

…

All I can guess is that after that I fell asleep -again-, because I can't remember any more of it.

There's also this other memory, that keeps coming back, and it freaks me out.

...

_"Charge..... Clear...."_

What the hell...?_I thought, but then I felt it. Something extremely strong pushed my chest upwards. Some sort of electricity running through my... heart?_

_"One more time..." I heard someone say._

Oh no, no, no!_I screamed, but they didn't hear me._

_"Charge..... Clear...." and again my chest was yanked upwards._

_"OK. We got pulse." said the same voice._

_Wait. What? Pulse? Was I dying?_

_"What's going on? What happened?"_That _was Charlie's desperate voice._

_"Sir, you need to calm down, " said a peaceful voice._

_"What? Calm down? What's going on?" he was shouting now._

_"Charlie_,"_ said another voice._

_"Carlisle, tell me what happened! She's my daughter, for God's sake! I have the right to know!" he still seemed angry but not as much as before._

_"She's fine now, Charlie. Sit, please. I'll tell you" said the voice that my father had referred as Carlisle._

_"She had a much unexpected… heart failure._"_ he stopped, but continued immediately because of what I could only assume as my father's horror face. "She's perfectly fine now, Charlie. In fact, she should be waking up in minutes. I am almost sure she can hear as now."_

_Slowly, cautiously, I opened my eyes. It hurt._

_"Oh my God, Bella. Are you OK?" my father was almost as a stranger to me. He looked really different, thinner, it was as if he hadn't slept nor eaten in days._

_I nodded, afraid of the sound of my voice._

_"Oh, Bells. You scared the hell out of me just now." he said, squeezing my hand._

_"Are_you_OK, dad?"_

_That seemed to surprise him. "I'm perfectly fine, Bells. You don't need to worry about me, OK? Worry about_you_. I need you to get better, OK kid?"_

_I nodded again, with a slight smile on my lips. It actually, hurt to smile._

_He sighed in relief._

_After that, I was transferred to my former room. Charlie stayed with me, but he never said a word. He looked... thoughtful for a moment, staring into space, never letting go of my hand, as if his life depended on it._

"_I have to go, talk to the doctor, OK? I'll be right back." He finally said._

"_It's OK dad. Don't worry." I said to reassure him._

_He slowly got up from the chair next to me and left the room closing the door behind him._

_It took him longer than I thought it would to be back. I ended up falling asleep, for some reason I was very tired._

…

Every once in a while this memory comes back, even in my dreams. But I'm fine, or so says the doctor, whom, by the way I haven't seen yet. Things are weird, _really_ weird. I have this strange feeling, that whatever it is they are not telling me is bad, _really_ bad.

I hope I could remember even a little of what happened, of the so called accident, but I can't. I'm worried about my mother I haven't seen her since I got up. She not being here means something bad happened, which only increases the strange feeling.

"Excuse me. Isabella?" said a voice, bringing me back to reality.

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**Another cliffhanger, I know, but ****Please don't hate me?**

**I think I like cliffhangers... :p**

**Big Thanks to the ones that put the story on alerts, favorites and reviewed!  
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**Now, Please review?  
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**Luv. ~E.**


	3. Chapter 3: Remembering

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, I'm just borrowing her characters. No copyright infringement intended.

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**A/N: OMG! I'm so, so sorry for the late update!**

**Thank you **_**IChimpz**_** for beta'ing this chapter!**

**Enjoy**** and ****please ****review****!

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**Chapter 3: Remembering.**

"Excuse me. Isabella?" said a voice, bringing me back to reality.

I looked up. There was a tall, slender, blond man standing at the door. He was gorgeous and young. He smiled at me, his face perfectly calm. "Hi, Isabella. I'm Carlisle Cullen. Your doctor."

_Oh, so_he_was the famous Carlisle._

"Hi," I answered. He seemed nice, and after all, he saved my life. Yes, it is his job, but that didn't matter to me, he still saved _my _life. "Please call me Bella?" I asked timidly.

"Bella, then," he nodded. "I'm here to talk about your… condition."

_Condition._I didn't like it, but I nodded for him to continue.

"As you might know, with the accident you broke a few bones." A few was probably a big understatement after what he said next. "Three ribs, your left leg, a few fingers, your right forearm.... You had the beginning of a concussion and..."

_That explains why even breathing hurts_, said my subconscious. I was starting to get annoyed at it.

He kept talking and talking. I didn't want to be rude so I nodded to show him I was paying attention. But I wasn't. Instead I focused on the wall behind him. I didn't want to know how many bones I had broken, how wrong my brain was, or hear all those medical terms he was using that I did not understand. I wanted to know what had happened, and where my mother was. I wanted to remember.

"Bella, are you listening to me?" _Oops, you got caught_, said that annoying little voice.

"I'm sorry, Dr. Cullen. I don't understand all those medical terms, nor do I care." I said with an apologetic look on my face. "I just want to know what happened. That's all."

"Yes. I understand that. It's common on your condition, wanting to know what happened if you don't remember..." He paused, thinking about something, and then continued."I'll let your father tell you. It will be better that way."

I nodded, but before I could say anything he added, "Just let me check your vital signs, first," walking closer to my bed.

"Now, follow the light," he said, pointing a small flashlight in front of my eyes and moving it, so that I would follow it with my eyes.

_Light... Lights... A pair of lights that burnt my eyes..._

_..._

_It was past midnight when I woke up. I hadn't even realized I had fallen asleep._

_I stayed there in silence, submerged in my thoughts, till that strange feeling was back. This time it was stronger, but I couldn't decide anymore whether it was good or bad. It seemed to be both at the same time._

_Then, was when I saw…_a car.

_It was far, far away, but it was traveling fast because suddenly it was close, too close._

After that, everything seemed to be in slow motion. Too many things happened at the same time.

_"Phil!" my mum screamed as the car lost its track on the road, the tires screeching._

_The other car coming in the opposite direction was actually coming directly at_us_._

_I panicked, and squeezed my eyes shut, praying it would disappear, that everything was OK, but it never happened._

_I felt my body being yanked forward by some sort of strong force, till the point where my head almost hit my legs. The seatbelt, pressed against my chest, burning my skin through my clothes._

_My breath escaped my lungs instantaneously in a loud hiss and my eyes shot open._

_Everything started spinning; I saw a pair of lights that burnt my eyes. Glass was shattering._

_A torn cry escaped my mum's lips._

_I heard the sound of crashing metal and everything then went black…_

_..._

"Bella? Bella?" someone was talking to me, but I couldn't pay attention.

_Oh. My. God._I remembered it. I remembered _everything._Detail after detail.

I got up suddenly and felt dizzy.

"Bella, lay down. You just fainted, " said Dr. Cullen.

I didn't do it. Too many thought were on my head.

"Bella?" _Charlie._

I blinked and a single tear slid down my cheek.

"Bella?" Charlie said again, his eyes wide with horror.

"I remember," I whispered.

"You remember?" Charlie was... shocked, terrified.

"Bella, lay down. Don't force your brain." Carlisle's voice was calm, but demanding.

I didn't do it. My heart beat was by the roof, my breath was raged, like I had been jogging for an hour. My vision was blurred, and my body hurt for the position I was. My thought were no longer coherent, I was starting to shake hard.

"Nurse!" Dr. Cullen called out laud.

She immediately came into the room "Yes, Dr. Cullen?"

"We need sedatives. Now!" he answered, his voice urgent.

_Sedatives.._

_No, I don't want to go back to sleep. I remember!_

"No," I shouted. Snapping out of my incoherency. "No more sedatives, I don't want to sleep." I whispered, this time, my voice pleading.

"Bella, you _need_ to calm down, your heart beat is too high," Dr. Cullen answered, his eyes apologetic.

_Oh._I could hear it, everyone could hear it. It was the machine, next to me, beeping furiously. As usual, I blushed a scarlet red. _Could this be any more embarrassing?_I asked myself, and just because my subconscious had decided to make my life harder, _Not possible,__ s_he answered in a teasing voice.

Right after the nurse came back in and handed Carlisle something, that I assume were the sedatives.

"No, wait. Please." I begged. I was afraid that if I went back into sleep, I would forget everything again. "I... I can calm down."

Dr. Cullen was very skeptical by the look on his face, and Charlie was, once more, horrified.

I took a few deep breaths, even when doing that hurt, and closed my eyes. Soon enough my heart beat was not normal, but slower.

"OK, Bella," Dr. Cullen started,"Now, tell me what you remember," he asked cautiously.

"I -I remember everything." I said, stammering with my words. "Everything... The accident... A car coming towards us... Glass shattering..." my voice was barely audible. "...metal crashing... my mo-" I broke off suddenly, eyes widely open.

_Mum_.

"Where is Renee?" I asked, with a strangled voice. Tears started falling freely down my cheeks. They didn't answer me, they just looked at me. Charlie was clearly pained, and Dr. Cullen... sympathetic?

"Charlie! Where is Renee?" I shouted and sobbed, all at the same time.

When I looked at him, he shook his head. He was crying too now.

"No, no, no." I chanted shaking my head "That's not true. NO! NO!" _No, not my mother. Not her!_ Tears were, now pouring down my face "No..." I whispered. I didn't have the strength to shout anymore, nor to do anything at all.

"I'm so sorry, Bella." Carlisle said, with that sympathetic look on his face. "I'm really sorry. Your mother and her husband…" he hesitated. "…neither of them survived the accident."

That was too much for my already overloaded brain.

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**A/N: *sniffs* I should have warned you of the upcoming drama... It was hard for me to write this last part... :(**

**I apologize once more for the later update; things around here are getting busier. I'm starting college soon and need to get everything ready. Sorry again, and I promise I won't leave you guys...never! I will start updating on the weekends mostly, or on Wednesdays. Any questions you have, don't hesitate to ask, PM me, e-mail me or ask on the review/comment section. :D**

**Thanks for reading and.... Please review?**

**Love. ~E.**

**PS. A big hug to the ones that reviewed, put the story on alerts and on favorites. I love you guys! You rock! 3**

**Reviews will make Bella feel better! plesae?**


	4. Chapter 4: Grieving

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, I'm just borrowing her characters. No copyright infringement intended.

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**A/N: Update! :D As promised I'm updating on ****Wednesday! Is it ****Wednesday there? lol Here it is :D duhh  
**

** Okay, enough with the nonsenses. This is sort of a transition chapter, I'm sorry guys it needed to happen.**

**Thank you **_**IChimpz**_** for beta'ing this chapter!**

**Enjoy**** and ****please ****review****!

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**Chapter 4: Grieving**

When I woke up the next time, the sun was shining through the window. Apparently, a whole day had passed since… _you know_. Charlie was there, holding my hand.

Everything was like a dream, a _nightmare_, the worst of my nightmares. And it had become true.

"How are you feeling, Bells?" he asked, with a small forced smile on his face.

"I'm fine."

_Fine_.

_Fine_ was almost a joke. _Fine_ was the least I was in this moment. _Fine_ was the century's biggest understatement. But that little, insignificant word that was nothing but a lie, seemed to reassure him, so I kept quiet.

Later that day, he received a call from work, but he didn't want to go. I told him he should.

"What is Forks going to do without you, Dad?" I said, a forced smile planted on my face as I tried to joke with him. It was meant to reassure him, but he wasn't fooled.

"Come on, Dad! For me?" I made use of the best innocent face I could manage. "I don't want you to be trapped here with me. You need to get distracted."

He sighed, defeated, kissed my forehead and got up to leave.

"And I want you to sleep at home. This chair is going to hurt your back," I called before he left.

The skeptical look on his face told me he was not going to listen to me, so I added "I mean it, Dad, or I'll be mad at you." And I did mean it, he still seemed not to be sleeping nor eating well enough.

"Okay, Bella, okay." I giggled at his reaction. He sounded like a child that was told to do something he didn't want to. _"Yes, mum. Okay, "_ was probably what he wanted to say.

He waved me goodbye and left, closing the door behind him.

I was left alone with my thoughts. I was afraid to think about it, because it would break me, It was something I would never going to get used to.

I was going to miss my Mom _forever._

She was not _only_ my mom, but she was also my best friend. She was my everything.

And I was crying again. But for once, I didn't mind. I needed to get rid of this burden, of the tears stuck in my throat. So I sobbed, as soundlessly as I possibly could, all day.

At some point someone came into the room and I stayed as quiet as possible, pretending I was sleeping. I thought it was a nurse or something. I was wrong, it was Charlie. He brought me some books. "I brought your favorites books, Bells, so you don't get bored," he said before leaving as soon as he had gotten there.

That little gesture of him just made me sob even harder.

The rest of the day was like that, just me crying my heart out. The last thing I saw was the sun setting, and then I fell asleep.

_"No, mommy I don't __want to wear that," I said. My mum was handing with a pink, princess-like dress._

_"It would be just for an hour, Bella. Your teacher asked me to dress you like this. It's just a party, baby."_

_"I know, mommy. But I hate piiink, and I haaaaate parties and-" I was already pouting and had tears on my eyes. Yes, I was a stubborn child._

_"Look, Bells. If you do this, then I will give you everything you want. Okay?"_

_My eyes lit up and I was immediately grinning. That was not something you should say to a 5 year-old. "Okay, mommy. I want a cat, a puppy dog, a looot of ice cream, chocolate, a huge cake, a rabbit and books, a lot of boooooks, yes, lots, lots of books."_

_"We will talk about it later, okay? Now dress." She handed me the dress and I put it on._

_"I will make a list so that you don't forget, okay, mommy?"_

_"Yes, baby, okay," my mom said, smiling._

I woke up with tears in my eyes. She would always do that; promise me to give me everything I wanted just so that I did what she wanted. At the end of the day I had already forgotten all about it, but she would buy something for me anyways.

The rest of the week was like that. At night I'd always dream about her, and wake up crying. Charlie would go and stay all morning with me. He never said a word about my eyes, but I knew they were red and puffy to the extreme from all the crying. He would just grimace and talk about something else. To distract me, I suppose. It didn't work, not in the slightest. It would _never_ work. Simply because I didn't want to get distracted, I didn't want to forget her. Ever.

In the afternoon when Charlie had to leave for work, I would try to read something, just to spend the time. It was useless. I couldn't help it, I just cried until my eyes were completely dry. I couldn't really do anything else. I couldn't move, not yet at least. According to the doctors, I would have to stay at the hospital two more weeks, _at least_. My ribs hurt every time I cried, every time I _breathed_, but I didn't care. My leg was not going to be moved, neither by me nor by anybody, as having it still hurt enough. My arm was probably the only thing in me that was getting better_, slightly_ better.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading! Sorry it's shorter than normal, but as I said it's sort of a transition chapter. Next chapter should be coming up soon, and I'm sure you will like it. *grins & winks***

**I know that the chapter title was lame, but I seriously didn't know how to call it, if you have a better idea, please share it with me, I'll immediately change it!  
**

**Thanks so much for the reviews and everything guys! The other day when I checked my e-mail inbox I had like 30 messages of reviews and alerts, and I was so, so happy you can't even begin to imagine. :D I love you all, lots!  
**

**So thanks again for reading and ****Please Review!**

**~E.**


	5. Chapter 5: Blaming

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga world, including its characters belongs to SM. No infringement intended.

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**A/N: Hello! :D I'm sorry I was supposed to update on Friday, but then real life got in the middle! :) So I stayed up and wrote it for you, it's not Friday, but it's 5am Saturday, it still counts, doesn't it? :)**

**I am so grateful to you, yes you *points finger* for reading and everyone that reviewed and put the story on alerts and/or favorites. I truly am grateful. It means the world to me! :D**

**And of course, a big, no, a **_**huge**_** thanks ****to Ashley! (a.k.a IChimpz) for being such and amazing beta! Lots of love to you, bb!**

**Enjoy and don't forget to review when you finish!

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**Chapter 5: Blaming.**

Thirty seven days, 888 hours, 53,280 minutes, 3,196,800 seconds had passed since the accident.

Thirty seven days, 888 hours, 53,280 minutes, 3,196,800 seconds that I've been in a hospital bed without moving.

Thirty seven days, 888 hours, 53,280 minutes, 3,196,800 seconds that I've been _without my mother._

It was just another boring, depressive day in a hospital bed. Or so it seemed.

"Bella, are you up?" That was Charlie.

"Yes, dad-" I broke off as soon as I saw him, he was wearing his uniform. "Dad, why are you dressed like that already? Isn't it like 5 am?"

"Yes, Bells, but I have to work. There was a fire on a near building and I have to go and help them."

"A fire? How bad is it?" I asked, instantly worried.

"Pretty bad," he grimaced. "I just came to see if you were okay," he said, eyeing me worriedly.

"Yeah, Dad, I'm fine," I said, only this time I meant it, physically at least. "Go, don't worry about me."

"Are you sure, Bells? I can tell them I can't go, they'll understand."

"No, Dad, go. Be careful, though."

"Always am," he said before leaving.

Right after Charlie left, Dr. Cullen came in.

"Good morning, Bella," he greeted me. He always seemed to be so calm, his voice was soothing.

I nodded in response.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but as I'm guessing your father already told you there was a fire near here?" he asked.

"Yes, he told me about it," I answered, a quizzical look on my face.

"Well, there was a lot of injured people there and they are coming here, we... we don't have enough space-"

I cut him off before he could even finish "I'm going home!" I said enthusiastically

"I'm afraid not," all my enthusiasm was transformed into dust. "I'm sorry, you have to stay longer. Your condition is not... stable yet," he said. "What I was going to say was that we will be forced to put more people together..."

My face was blank, I was not following him and he knew it.

"We will have to bring someone to this room as well. It's just temporary, just until the things with the fire get settle down."

"Oh," was my excellent response. I sighed, someone into my room... I didn't really care, but it was going to be awkward.

I don't know what he saw on my face because he said, "If this bothers you, we ca-"

I didn't let him finish again as I said, "No, no. It's perfectly fine, besides I'll have someone to talk to, right?"

He nodded, gave me a small smile and left.

_Someone to talk to._

_Yeah, right, like you would do that, _said sarcastically the voice inside my head.

I was praying for the person that would come to my room to be a girl. It would be easier that way. I would feel less awkward. I didn't think I would ever talk to her, not unless she talked to me first , but still.

The truth be told, I felt lonely. I did. I missed school, even if it's hard to believe. I missed Angela, and mostly Jacob. Charlie told me Angela and Ben came the first week I was here, but I was sleeping so they didn't stay long; and that Jacob came as well, but as he lives in La Push so it's even more difficult, even more now that the classes had started.

-:-

_"Phil!" my mom screamed... _

_A pair of lights coming in our way... A car... The driver... _

I woke up gasping for air, looking around wide eyed. I felt lost.

The room was darker, but I could still see the sun out the window. _The driver..._ I have never given too much thought about the other car occupants, but this dream... it was strange. Maybe I was just going insane for being inside this hideous hospital room for more than a month, but I felt odd.

Could I really blame the other car driver for the accident? Could he or she be the cause of Phil's and my mother's death? The cause of my being here, unmoving? Was it the right thing to do? I didn't think so, I didn't have in me the power of hating someone, not at the moment at least. That's not how both of my parents raised me to be, forgiveness was divine. How could I blame someone I didn't even know? That person I didn't know hadn't _intentionally_ killed my mother. That's what it was after all, right? An accident.

Nonetheless I could feel something building inside me. One side of me was saying that it wasn't right, that it was no one's fault. But the other part, the selfish one, was saying that whoever it was had killed my mother, it had taken her away from me. The most loving being I knew was abruptly taken away from me. It had been _stolen_ from me. I could feel this part of me winning the argument and I couldn't stop it, not now, because after everything that had happened I felt the need to blame someone else. It was wrong, but it's too late now.

It wasn't until I heard a light knock on the door that I realized that I was gripping the bed sheet forcefully, my heart beating fiercely.

"Excuse me, Miss Swan?" said the nurse. I released the sheet slowly, looking up when she spoke again. "I need to get the room ready."

"Oh, yeah, it's okay," I said. _Finally_, I added inwardly.

The nurse started working on arranging the bed. She was arranging what seemed to be a curtain between the two beds when I finally asked, "Um... do you know who's coming to this room, yet?"

"Oh," she said, seemingly surprised by my question "I... um... they are still checking everything, I'm not sure." She had a thoughtful expression now. "Probably the girl on the next room, but... I'm sorry, Miss Swan, I'm not sure."

"Oh, it's fine. Don't worry." I couldn't help the relief I felt when she said girl. "And please call me Bella?" I asked timidly.

"Oh, sure," she answered.

She was a really nice woman, she often came to check on me and treated me really well, I was very grateful to her. She was probably the only nurse that I really liked, the others were young, blond -not that I had anything against blonds, but they looked at me as if I had grown two heads or something.

After she finished, she stayed with me a while and told me how things were with the fire and all. Apparently the Hospital was a chaos. There were more than a hundred injured because of it and the hospital was crowded. It seemed it was a pretty bad fire, considering the city was not that big.

I was starting to feel sleepy again -and made a mental note to ask the nurse to stop giving me this medicines it was making me sleepy all the time - when I heard voices outside my room.

_"To which room?"_

_"Are you sure?"_

Then someone got into the room and started bringing things in, but they closed the curtain so I couldn't see anything. I was itching to ask who was it, but I hold it back, not wanting to be rude or anything.

Moments like this were when I hated the fact that I had a broken leg that even with all the stupid medicines it still hurt like hell; because of it I couldn't get up and peek through the curtain to see who was there, sleeping next to me.

I stayed thinking about it for a while. To be honest, the curiosity was killing me.

After that my thought wandered on Charlie. I was worried about him as all this questions kept ringing in my head, _What if he got hurt while helping someone?_ _What if….? _I tried to block it the best I could, until I fell asleep.

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**A/N: So? ****What do you think? I know I said last chapter that there was someone coming, and there is just... not now... :D**

**Hope you all liked it! What do you think it's gonna happen next? **

**So... here's the thing, I need to know what you guys think so I can keep writing, I'm still unsure about the next few ****chapters... Please review!**

**Oh! ****Thanks to ****Lehava**** & ****AuntBell**** for suggesting names for the last chapter!**

**I'm just really sleepy now *hits head against keyboard and jumps startled* my eyes are seriously closing. :D**

**I've checked the story status and saw a lot of visits so ****please, please, please review! If you just say "Hi" it's enough for me! :)**

**Thanks again for reading. **

**Lo****ve,**

**-E.**

**PS. Review! It will make **_**you know who**_** arrive faster! Review****! :D**


	6. Chapter 6: Green

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, I'm just borrowing her characters. No copyright infringement intended. The plot, however, does belong to me, please don't steal it.  


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**A/N: Hello dear readers! So... update! :)  
**

**Thanks everyone! I tried to reply to everyone... it's not like there were _ten_ reviews, but still...Lol. I was just kidding, I do appreciate your reviews, very much! You know I love you! :D**

**Thank you _IChimpz_ for beta'ing this one too! :)  
**

**So, chapter 6 it's here, I won't delay you anymore, go read it and don't forget to review... I'll do a warning now though, the other A/N it's gonna have something important, so if you're not used to read Author's notes, please do it!... :D**

**Here's the moment you all have been waiting for...**

**Enjoy! and review! :)**

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**Chapter 6: Green**

**Bella's POV  
**

That night it was worse than the others. My mind kept wandering, I had a million nightmares. I dreamed of my mother and my time with her when I was a child; of Charlie and the fire; and once again of the accident. This time it was different, though. It wasn't of the car crashing, or the glass shuddering, all I could see was a black shadow behind the wheel of the other car. It started as a normal dream, but then something changed...

... _"No, Bella. Stop fidgeting, I'll hurt you," Renee said while she fixed my dress._

_"Mom, I hate this. How many times do I have to tell you?" I said angrily._

_"I know, baby, but we have to go; you promised Phil you'd do it for him."_

_I sighed and nodded, I had, after all, promised Phil I would go, but I knew I would regret this as soon as I saw the dress I was supposed to wear._

_"It's done, Bella. Now get in the car or we'll be late." I nodded and started in the direction of the car, my mom following behind me. _

_As it was to be expected, I tripped. When I turned around to tell my mom that I wanted to change my shoes, "Mom I-" Everything went dark; the house disappeared as did my mom, the car, and Phil. _

_Suddenly, I was alone in the middle of nowhere; everything was black, except for the lights of a car in the distance. In seconds, the lights were right in front of me, blinding me. All I could see was a black form inside the car..._

For the rest of the night, my mind was filled with that dark figure behind the car's wheel.

When I woke up the next morning, the sun was shining on my face. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I saw –or rather didn't see– was the curtain... It was gone.

It was probably stupid to feel excited, but that's exactly how I felt. After all, it had been more than a month that I didn't see someone apart from my father, the nurses, and Dr. Cullen. My friends came once, yes, but I didn't get to see them.

As slowly as I could, I looked up, and when my eyes reached its goal my heart literally stopped.

It was not a girl as the nurse had told me, it was… a _boy_. He was gorgeous, perfect.

_Maybe I'm still dreaming, and it's the best dream I had since... I was born_. I thought sarcastically.

What made it even more surreal was that he was looking intently at _me_.

Did I say my heart stopped? Well, it _did_, but when it started beating again, it was fast, _really_ fast. It felt like it would pop out if my chest at any moment. The fact that, when my gaze met his, he didn't look away, made my heart beat even worse.

I could feel the heat running up my neck, and soon enough –to my disappointment or great embarrassment– my face was burning. And when I thought things couldn't get worst, he smiled at me. He freaking _smiled_ at me!

As I looked away, my face must have turned a hundred different shades of red. All I could think about was how embarrassed I felt and how grateful I was that I no longer had all those stupid machines all attached to my body. Because, believe me, having your heartbeat being heard by other people is embarrassing, even more when it's beating the way mine was at the moment.

I stayed most of the day facing the other end of the room, but all I could see were a beautiful pair of piercing green eyes. My face never returned to its normal pale color, which only meant he was still... looking at me? Even the thought of it made my heartbeat accelerate.

There was one point where I couldn't feel anything anymore, every single inch of my body was asleep for the position I'd been all day. I was praying someone would come in or something, I needed some distraction, but it didn't happen. Charlie was probably really busy with the fire and all, and the people from the hospital must have been busy as well.

It was almost getting dark when someone finally came in; things were already too awkward for me by then. It was Dr. Cullen. When he looked at me, he had a small smile on his calm face, but as he looked at the boy beside me, his expression turned confused, shocked even.

"What-" he started asking, but cut himself off. "Excuse me, just a minute, Bella, I'll be right back," he said as he started backing towards the door, leaving it slightly open.

_That was odd_, said that annoying voice in my head, but for once, I agreed.

I could hear Dr. Cullen talking with someone outside.

_"What happened with the room arrangements? How did this happen?"_

_"Oh, I'm so sorry, Dr. Cullen," someone answered. "But I'm afraid every room has been filled already, and we can't make changes anymore, it's not healthy for our patients," she said somehow uncertainly._

_"Of course, it's okay, never mind," Dr. Cullen sighed, defeated._

When he came back into the room, his face was covered by a calm mask again. On his way to my bed, he glanced at the boy besides me, and so did I. He was sleeping. His face had the most beautiful, peaceful expression I've seen in my life.

"So, Bella," Dr. Cullen started "How is your arm feeling?"

"Um… better, I guess. It doesn't hurt as before, at least," I said, shrugging.

_Maybe they'll let you go home, _said that little voice in my head. _It would, actually be good to go home, I needed to start cooking for Charlie again. He clearly wasn't eating well,_ I thought.

I heard a light snore to my right, and involuntarily, my head followed the sound. It was the boy, he seemed deeply asleep, but had a slight smile on his face. Seeing such peaceful expression made _me_ smile. _Maybe I could ask him his name before leaving._

_Yeah, like you could do it without embarrassing yourself in the process,_ said the irritating voice again. Its sarcastic tone made me feel angry, but as much as I didn't want to admit it, it was nothing but the truth. I sighed, the smile on my face faded, only to be replaced by a grimace.

Dr. Cullen must have caught my grimace and my staring because he coughed and said, "Oh. I'm sorry about that, Bella," My face was as red as a tomato, _he cough me staring!_ But then I frowned, confused. Did he think I was uncomfortable? "There was mistake with the room arrangements, but don't worry, we will change him as soon as a room is available."

"No, don't worry, it's okay," I told him. It was the truth, for now at least. I did feel a little... awkward at the beginning, and… embarrassed, but that was just me. I was used to it. I didn't feel uncomfortable. And, in all honesty if I could stay watching him sleep all my life, I certainly would.

Carlisle did a quick check on my vital signs, my arm, and my left leg. Apparently my arm would be free and usable in a few days, which made me sigh in relief, having only your left arm and being me –clumsy– was the same as having none. My leg, on the other hand, would be still for a few more weeks. For what I allowed Dr. Cullen to tell me, with the accident, my leg bones were practically shuddered into dust.

After he checked everything needed, he closed the curtain, cutting my sight of the beautiful, angel-like boy and left, closing the door behind him. Leaving me with nothing to do, but remembering those piercing green eyes.

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**A/N: So? He's here! _Finally? _:)**

**Hope you liked it!**

***IMPORTANT!: Okay, here comes the question of the day: Would you like having the next chapter in Edward's POV? I'm still not sure, but I was thinking it's time for Edward to appear already! what do you think? Or maybe I could do one more chapter of Bella's POV?**

**This is seriously important for me, I _need_ to know what you think in order to keep writing! So please tell me in your reviews or something! Please! I've seem that like 40 of you have the story on alerts so I'll be expecting your opinion :)***

**Well, thanks again for reading, for putting the story on alerts and/or favorites; and obviously for reviewing! :D I love you guys! :D**

**Have a nice day, afternoon, evening, night... and see you on the next chapter! :)**

**Wait! Don't forget to review! :)**

**~E.**

**P.S. You may follow me on Twitter if you want, it's _ele05gs_ as here and every other place I've got an account in. :D You can find the links to everything in my profile! :D**

**There's also a banner made by CandyKizzeS24, a Twitter friend! :D Check it out! :)**

**Sorry for the long Author's Note! :)**

**Review!**


	7. Chapter 7: Forgetting

**Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to Stephanie Meyer, I'm just borrowing her characters. No copyright infringement intended. The plot, however, does belong to me, please don't steal it.  


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**A/N: Hello dear readers!**** So, as most of the reviewers asked the chapter in EPOV is here! :)**

**All I've got left to say is Thank you! Thanks for reviewing, you make my day, or better, my week. It's because of your encouraging and amazing reviews that I keep writing! I love you all dearly! :D**

**Thank you _IChimpz_ for helping me out and enduring my problem with commas. :)**

**There will be some swearing in this chapter, I don't know if it's supposed to be M rated because of it, but consider yourself waned.  
**

**Oh! One more thing! Some of you have been asking if it was an All Human story, and it is. I'm sorry I forgot to mention it before!**

**Please Read, Review & Recommend!**

**~Enjoy! :)**

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**Chapter 7: Forgetting**

**Edwards's POV  
**

"I'm sorry, _Dr. Cullen. _I _do not_ want to talk about it, I _do not_ remember it, and I _do not_ intend on doing so." My voice was cold; I was getting angrier by the minute.

"Edward, listen to me…" he said in a pleading voice.

"No, _Carlisle_. I don't want to talk about it, I don't remember. Just cut it already!"

Seeing I was not changing my mind, he nodded and turned to leave, but before he could exit the room completely, I called after him, as I remembered I had to ask him something. "Wait!" When he turned around, I continued. "Would you mind giving me some pain killers? It hurts," I grimaced; it did hurt, a lot.

"Yes, I'll make the nurse bring something for you," he said, nodding. "But are you sure you-" he didn't continue because I started shaking my head, telling him not to waste time. _God, he was persistent._ Sighing, he left the room.

I didn't remember anything about the accident, not a thing. And I didn't want to remember either. The last thing my memory registered before I woke up in this hospital bed was myself somewhere drinking senselessly.

But here I was now, all broken and with no memory of how it happened.

It had been a month or so, that I'd been stuck in this hospital bed, and the pain was as strong as it was the first day I woke up. Carlisle told me I was in a coma for three weeks because of the accident, so it was bad, _really_ bad. But when I woke up from this _coma_ it took me almost a whole day to say one sentence. _One fucking sentence!_

Dr. _Carlisle Cullen_, or better known as my father, tried telling me a few things about it, but I refused listening to him. I didn't want to remember what lead me to the accident, it was something I'd rather never think about again. Why he couldn't understand it, or at least respect it, was beyond me.

He also tried convincing me to stay home, that he could take better care of me there and that my mom could be with me all the time.

_"Edward, stop being so stubborn. If you go home you will feel more comfortable and your mother would be less worried, as would be your siblings,"_ he had said the first time, and every other of the other million times he tried convincing me.

But, as I was a stubborn idiot, I answered him every single time with a shake of my head and saying,_ "No, Carlisle. You won't convince me, I won't change my mind no matter how many times you use Mom as an excuse."_

Every time he asked I got angrier with him, and he knew it, but kept trying. It'd got to the point where I no longer call him '_Dad' _anymore_. _It's _Carlisle_ or _Dr. Cullen_ now, only because I know he doesn't like it when I call him that way. _"I'm your father, Edward, so treat me as it. Stop being childish!"_ he had said once he couldn't take it anymore, but I continued doing it, simply because it was funny seeing _Dr. Cullen _angry or annoyed. Now he just ignored it.

Truth be told, it was because of her, of my mother, that I didn't want to go home. No matter how many times Carlisle said it would make her feel better, I knew it wouldn't. I knew that every time I grimaced or showed the slight sign of pain she would start worrying and desperately searching for something that would make me feel better. Even though there was nothing that actually would.

I was in a lot of pain, and the medicine has been less and less effective to make the _physical_ pain go away lately. It was hard enough pretending it didn't hurt while she was here when they allowed her to. Having her around me all the time wouldn't make me feel better, I was barely able to look at her after what I did; she deserved a better son than me.

A light knock on the door forced me back from my reverie. I hoped it was the nurse with the pain killers, but it wasn't. It was Carlisle. Again.

"What now, Carlisle?" I could see the hurt in his face now, the pain it caused him being called like that, but I couldn't find the will in me to call him 'Dad' again. I was too fucking angry.

He took a deep breath before he started talking. "I... um... There was a fire on a near building. We... um... we need the room…" he trailed off.

_Why was he nervous for telling me this?_

I looked at him with a confused expression on my face. _Wait! Was he kicking me out? _

As if reading my mind, he said, "I'm not kicking you out, Edward. You are a patient as everyone else here, but we will have to move you to another room with someone else. I just..." he paused for a second, cleared his through and continued. "I just thought you would feel more comfortable at home."

_Not again! _

I sighed heavily; Carlisle was the image of persistence. "No, it's okay, I don't mind being in a room with someone else. And I'll not go home. Will you drop it, _please?_" I was pleading now because maybe that way he would leave me alone with it. I didn't want to get on an argument with him, yet again.

"Okay, Edward, I won't ask again. I promise." He walked closer to my bed and handed me a pill. "You will feel better in half an hour. It will also help you sleep." I nodded in understanding, giving him a small smile as he left the room, looking briefly at me before he did so.

Half an hour after that, as he had predicted, the medicine started to make effect. I was hoping it would help me get one dreamless night, but it didn't.

Even though the night was not as bad as the few I actually slept since the day I woke up in this hospital bed, it didn't go undisturbed. There was a moment of the night that I heard some strange voices, but couldn't make out what they were saying, so I let it go.

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**A/N: I had to brake it into two chapters because it was going to get too long...sorry. I hope you liked it!**

**I know that Edward seems a little rebel now, but don't worry he's still the gentleman we all love.**

**If you have questions don't hesitate to ask! I can't explain everything detailed because it was going to be very, very long Author's Note, so if you have doubts ask them in your reviews!**

**I'm leaving... I'm gonna watch 'Up in the Air' now... Have you seen it? :)  
**

**Anyway, Thanks for reading!**

**Please review! **

**Love,**

** ~E.**


	8. Chapter 8: Don't

**A/N: Chapter 8 is here!!! :)**

**So, um... I'm kinda sad guys!! What happened with the other chapter? You didn't like it? I got only five reviews for it! :( *sniffs***

**I want to say Thanks to ****the ones that put the story on Alerts and/or Favorites... and everyone that's reading!!**** But the special thanks goes to the five who did review the last chapter --- Lehava****, QueenOfWeird1995 , TheAngelOfHope**** and the two anonymous. You guys are beyond awesome!!! ****Of course! I luv ya _all_ lots!! :)**

**And if you are new in the story... Welcome!! and don't forget to let me know you are here!! :D**

**So here it is, the second part!! Hope you like it! Oh! and sorry, I was supposed to update yesterday but had like a huge headache and the things just wouldn't come out.**

****So I'll do the same warning: there will be some**** swearing**** here too!  
**

**Read, Review & Recommend!!**

**~Enjoy! :)  
**

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****Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to SM, therefore the characters do too! ****No infringement intended.**

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**Chapter 8: Don't  
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**Edward's POV.**

When I woke up the next morning I was on a new surrounding, which could only mean that somehow during the night I was changed of room.

The room was exactly the same as the one I was staying until last night, talking about the walls color and the furniture. The only difference was that there was a long white curtain in the middle of it, and a bed on the other side, I suppose.

The sun was clearly up, because I could see the room was slightly illuminated, but I couldn't see _it_, I couldn't look through the window. Since the time I woke up the window and being able to look outside was the only thing that stopped me from getting insane for being trapped in a bed all the time.

I wanted that curtain gone, not only so I could watch the sun, but because the curiosity was killing me. I wanted, _needed_, to know who was behind it. Maybe it would be someone nice, someone that wouldn't need to tell my problems to, someone who didn't know me. But maybe it would be someone just as broken as I was, or maybe worst, and I didn't need more shit in my life, not now, not ever. I had enough.

When the curiosity got the best of me I pressed the red button next to my hand and called the nurse. I couldn't get up, so I needed someone to do open it for me.

"You called, Edward?" she asked as she got into the room and next to my bed.

"Yes, could you please open the curtain for me?" When she eyed me with narrowed eyes I said, "I just wanna look through the window, I can't get up, you know...?"I asked showing the best smile I could at the moment.

She kept watching me with narrowed eyes for a bit longer, and when I was about to tell her my father said I need to get some sun light, she nodded and walked next to the curtain, opening it slowly, _very_ slowly.

I was about to scream in exasperation by the time she had finished. "Okay, call me if you need anything, all right?"

"Okay, Thanks" I said before she left the room. The second the door was closed my head flew to the left.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it certainly was not this. On the other bed there was... a girl. She had brown long hair and she was still sleeping. Watching her sleep made me feel... odd in a good and in a bad way. It was like I knew her, but I really didn't. I had never seen this girl before in my entire life.

She seemed to be sound asleep but there was this frown in her forehead that made me think she might not be having a good dream. I didn't know, but what I _did_ know was the strong, strange pull I felt, something willing me to reach out and sooth it. And I hated it.

I just sat there staring at her. We were in the same room, should I talk to her? Should I pretend I didn't even see her? Should I...? Too many questions were passing through my head at light speed as I looked at her. I didn't know her, but did I _want_ to know her?

That was just a fucking stupid question. Why on Earth would I want to know her? I didn't need one more person to disappoint when they realized... everything. Nor did I need one more person to help me fuck everything up, I had already done that all by myself, I needed no one's help.

When I was about to ask the nurse to come and close the curtain back I heard a little noise and a groan. _She was waking up._

As I watched her, she slowly, very slowly raised her head. First there was surprise on her face and I would dare to say even excitement, but I wasn't sure.

When her head was finally raised she looked at me right in the eyes. I didn't look away, and it wasn't as if I could... or wanted to. I just stared at her big brown eyes as she stared right back at me, not even blinking for a second.

Then all of a sudden her face turned bright red, and I couldn't help the smile that formed on my lips. It was the first sincere smile I had since... a long time. At the sight of my smile her face reddened even more -is that is even possible- and she looked rapidly away.

I shook me head and looked away, still smiling to myself. Was she embarrassed of being in a room with me or was it because I was staring at her? I didn't know.

_And you don't want to know Edward._

No, I didn't. I didn't want _any_ more shit in my life. No more, I had enough with... "Argh!" I said shaking my head more forcefully, the small smile already replaced by a grimace. All the images I didn't want to remember coming back in my mind just like it was happening all over again.

As I started desperately searching for something that would help me get away from those thoughts, I looked back at the girl, she was still facing the window, it actually seemed she hadn't moved a muscle, well, it was not as she could, her leg was completely immobilized and her right arm was securely clenched to her chest. What had happened to her to break, both her arm and leg? I cough myself in that train of though and starting chanting _'Don't wanna know, don't wanna know, don't wanna know'_ over and over again in my head.

While trying to think about random things to avoid certain thoughts, I stared out the window. I couldn't help the feel of claustrophobia that rose in my chest for being in this stupid room and the thought still lingering on my head were not helping. I need to get away from here, away from everything, from _everybody_. I hated this stupid... _life_. But I couldn't, not for me but for my family, especially for my mother. I couldn't do that to her, she was everything, she found me. I couldn't do that to her, not again.

_My family_. I sighed, I missed them. I see Carlisle everyday and almost just as much I see my mom, but I can't see my siblings so often, they are at school. I miss Alice's cheerful and energetic mood and Emmett's constant jokes. Thinking about them made me smile, I could only imagine what Emmett must be doing with Alice without me to stop him, he always does slightly cruel jokes with her clothes. But simple things just as thinking about my family brought other memories back and that's why I always avoided them, or tried to.

On my efforts to stop my thoughts I found myself staring at the girl's back again, watching it raise and fall rhythmically as she breathed in and out. The sight of that somehow graceful yet simple, involuntary, movement made me drift into the first peaceful sleep I had since I got into this hospital.

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**A/N: So? How was that? I hope you like it!!!!**

**Next chapter will be back to Bella's POV.... probably! :)  
**

**So here's the thing, I'm traveling this weekend because I need to get some things for college ready and I won't be back until around the 16th so you won't have an update until then! Sorry, but I promise I'll make it up for you guys in some way.... *wink***

**Thanks for reading!!**

**Please review! :)**

**Luv. ~E.**

**P.S. The story has been uploaded into WordPress, please visit it!!!! I also made a new Banner. Links on my profile!! :D  
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	9. Chapter 9: Freedom

**A/N: Sorry, sorry, sorry!!!!!!! I'm so sorry for the delay! I could have written earlier but if I did I'm sure Bella would have ended going to college early or having a tragic life.... lol**

**I intended on updating on the last weekend when I got home, but there was this festival here in my city and everything was like a huge mess. Oh! and blame the new Eclipse pictures too!!!**** But to make it up to you I'm making the story move a little faster and this chapter is also two times longer than usual. :)  
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**Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter and everything, you guys rock and I luv y'all lots! And thanks to _IChimpz & Pamela0201_**** (two betas from Project Team Beta) for beta-ing this chapter!**

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**Enjoy!!**

_Just a reminder: On the last chapter in BPOV Dr. Cullen examined her and closed the curtain before leaving._

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****Disclaimer: The Twilight Saga belongs to SM, therefore the characters do too! ****No infringement intended.**

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**Chapter9: Freedom.**

**Bella's POV.**

_One week._

_One week_ had passed since the new stranger has been moved into my room; _one week_ had passed since the curtain was last opened. _One week_ was how long I had one and only one image fixed in my head. O_ne week_ was enough to convince Dr. Cullen that I was ready to go home.

And _today_ was the day I was finally free. Free from this nightmare that had been being in a hospital for over a month, with nothing to do and no one to talk to, but myself.

Do you think life sucks? Well, try living mine. The only good thing I can actually rescue from all this madness was last Monday's surprise visit.

It was early evening when Charlie showed up. His face looked brighter and even though I tried asking him what was up he refused to tell me, but I could tell it was something good.

-

_"Hey, Bells. How are you kiddo?" he asked smiling widely at me._

_"Hi, Dad. I'm fi-" Stop with 'fine' Bella, I shouted inwardly "I'm… better" Yes, that suited; at least I was not _lying_ to him._

_Charlie seemed instantaneously nervous, which made me frown. "How are the things with the fire?" I asked to distract him._

_"Well, um… okay, I guess. Everything is settling, at least." He said nonchalantly. "The Hospital is still dealing with its consequences, though." As he was saying this, he shot an angry look at the curtain. I sighed, I knew he was going to react like this and just because it was a boy. _Whom you haven't talked to_, added the voice in my head. I was, by now, sure I had gone crazy or something, it was so_ annoying.

_"Yeah, um… I, um…" for some reason that was beyond me I started stammering. I paused, cleared my throat, and continue. "Dr. Cullen said it would be back to normal in a few days"_

_"I see," he said, trying to sound indifferent, but his face showed his suspiciousness. I didn't like when Charlie got all overprotective with m. First because it was unnecessary, I didn't even know the boy; and second because I didn't need him to, I could take care of myself. I always have. But I understood it though._

_After that we stayed in silence, it has always been a normal thing for us. Being silent wasn't awkward, not around Charlie. But this time it was not awkward, but nerving; he kept checking his watch every five minutes. When I was about to ask him what was going on he looked up, his face was… excited, happy. I haven't seen him like that since I had the accident._

_"Bells…" he started "You are not gonna believe who's here." He had the biggest smile I've ever seen him wear._

_I waited for him to say it but as he didn't, I had to ask him. "Who, Charlie? Who's here?"_

_"Come in, Jake," he called through the door._

_Jake?... Jacob! My face lit up immediately. Oh! How I missed him._

_"Bells!" he shouted and ran towards my bed, hugging me tightly._

_Wow. "Ja- Jake… can't… bre…. Breathe," I managed to choke out._

_He released me with a playful smile on his lips. "Oops, sorry"_

_I laughed at the innocent expression on his face. "God, Jake! When did you become this big?" I shoved him playfully on the shoulder with my good arm, and… it hurt me._

_"Funny, Bells," he said sitting next to me on the bed. "So, how are you? When will you go home? How many broken bones do you have? How's that boy? Did you miss me?...."_

_"Whoa, Jake. One question at a time." I said giggling. "Well, I'm fine; don't know when I'm going home, in a few weeks probably. I have a few, no, a lot of broken bones. He's there because of the fire, the Hospital is overcrowded, you know…" I trailed off, a light blush crippling up my neck. "Did I forget anything?" I asked innocently._

_He looked at me with a hurt expression on his face. "Yes," he answered pouting. "Did you miss me?"_

_"Oh, that!" I said nonchalantly._

_"Yes, that!!" He said, he seemed angry now. I giggled; it was funny seeing his eyes, like a hurt puppy. "Yeah, great! Now laugh at me. Why don't we laugh at Jake, he's an idiot anyway." That just made me laugh harder._

_Eventually I stopped, Jakes face was red, he was really angry and hurt. And this time it was for real. "Oh. Come on, Jake! I was just kidding. Of course I missed you." I said laughing again. He was so silly sometimes._

_"God, Bella. I almost had a heart attack here," he said placing his hand over his chest._

_"Well, thanks god we are at the hospital, then." I replied mockingly._

_"Ha-ha," he was angry again, which only served to make me laugh hysterically again. I could even hear Charlie trying to hold his laughter, not very successfully, from the other corner of the room._

_When I was finally able to stop, I said sorry to Jake and after half an hour of pleading he forgave me._

_He told me all about his classes, about La Push, and his friends from there. Charlie joined our conversation a few times, though he mostly stayed watching a baseball game on the T.V. of the room._

_When I started yawning he decided it was time to go home. Jake hugged me, and Charlie kissed my forehead, telling me he would come more often as the things with the fire were getting better._

_-_

After they left that night I stayed up thinking until sleep took over me. That was the first peaceful night I had in thirty-seven days, all I saw in my dreams were a pair of beautiful green eyes and the peaceful face of an angel.

That's the only place I see it, in my dreams. On Wednesday I thought about asking the nurse to open the curtain, but I didn't have an argument convincing enough to make her do it. I mean, if I told her _'Hey, could you open the curtain I wanna see the new boy's eyes'_ she would have thought I was a stalker or something.

As I stared out the window waiting for the nurse to come and help me out of this bed so I could leave, I heard a light knock on the door and blond hair peeking through it.

"Hello Bella. Are you ready?" Dr. Cullen asked as he entered the room.

"Yes," I answered a little too eager perhaps, but he just smiled kindly at me and helped me into the wheelchair.

"Your dad is in the Waiting Room with... Jacob?" he seemed uncertain and as I nodded he continued. "Um... waiting for you. I can tell they are really happy you're going home... as are you." He finished with a knowing smile on his face.

"Yeah, I'm happy to go home too. It gets boring being stuck in a bed all the time, you know?" Dr. Cullen's reply was a smile and a nod.

We stayed in silence until we arrived at the Waiting Room. Charlie was pacing back and forth, probably leaving a mark on the floor. Jake was sitting on one of the couches looking quite comfortable. Hearing me approach, Jake stood up and Charlie stopped pacing and looked at me with a wide smile on his face, which I returned gladly.

"Ready, Bells?" he asked when I was at hearing range.

"Yes, let's go." I said. I couldn't wait to be home, in the peaceful space of my bedroom.

The ride home was just as quiet as always, a comfortable silence filled the car, that is until Jacob decided he was bored and started talking non-stop.

I would need help to do a few things because I still had to use crutches to help me walk for at least one more week, but my arm was now fully recovered.

As I was helped out of the car by an over eager Jacob, I looked around the house. The rainy weather was never the part I liked the most, but being trapped in a bed for that long made me see everything differently. It was like everything was better, more beautiful and still amazingly peaceful and quiet. But there was one thing all that green made me think of, the thing I'd tried to take out of my mind for the past week, not successfully might I add.

My room was just as it was almost two month ago, not even a thing had been moved out of the place I left it. As I inspected it more accurately I noticed that everything was covered by a thin dust cloak, Charlie must not have even stepped close to my door in all that time.

-

That week flew by without much remark, I wanted to go back to school, but Charlie wouldn't let me to nor would Dr. Cullen. _"You need to adapt to it for at least a week, if after that everything is okay you can go back,"_ he had said. So I spent all week in the house reading because there wasn't much I could do. I wanted to go out, but as I was alone, because I had insisted for Charlie to keep working, I didn't, I was afraid I might fall or something and make my almost healed leg worse.

-

"Dad, it's okay. I am going back to school no matter what you say. I can't stay in this house any longer or I'll go mad!" I told a very worried Charlie.

He knew me enough not to argue too much, so with a defeated sigh he nodded in agreement. "Okay, let's go I'll take you." He said and started towards the door.

Now it was my time to sigh, but in annoyance. I couldn't even walk without the crutches, so obviously I couldn't drive, and having to go with Charlie everyday was going to be embarrassing to no end.

As he drove me to school he told me a few things, like to avoid walking if not necessary and not going into crowded hallways, even if that meant I had to be late to every single class. I just nodded to every one of his over –pieces of advice. They weren't things I didn't already know, or that Dr. Cullen hadn't already told me.

When we arrived at school I noticed that the parking lot was barely full, which I was thankful for, but before I could get out Charlie stopped me.

"Bella, the principal told me there wouldn't be any problems as you only lost three week of classes and you are a dedicated student, but he said you need to get updated as fast as you can, okay?"

"Yes, dad. I'll ask for Angela's notes today, okay?" I knew I needed to get updated and for a _brief_ moment I almost regretted spending all the past week reading my favorites book instead of studying. A_lmost._

As soon as I got out of the car, I spotted Angela getting out if her car and as she looked in my direction I waved at her, which she returned with a wide smile on her face.

I slowly started walking towards her, and when she took her things out of the car she did the same. "Hey, Ang!" I said when she was close enough to hear me.

"Bella!" she squealed enthusiastically, before hugging me tightly. "So, how are you doing?" she asked after releasing me.

"I'm better, you?"

"I'm fine. So... ready for classes or what?" she asked smiling widely again.

"Actually I am," I answered smiling back. "Oh. Would you lend me your notes of the past three weeks for a while, I need to get updated, you know?"

"Sure, Bella, no problem."

"And... um... could you... like pick me up until I can drive again? I don't want Charlie to have to do it everyday..." I said, somehow timidly and blushing furiously.

"Of course, Bella. I'd love to." Angela was a life savior, she was the most kind and caring person in the world and of course a really good friend.

"So, what did I miss in the last three weeks? Anything new around here?" I probably should have asked Jessica for the school gossip but Angela wouldn't judge anyone so she was better.

"Actually, there are four new students," she said glancing briefly to a car arriving. I followed her gaze and saw a huge jeep arriving followed by a red BMW. From the jeep a very big boy and a small dark-haired girl got out and, form the BMW a very, very good-looking blond girl and an equally gorgeous blond boy. As they met with the jeep occupants they hugged, and the blond boy took the spiky haired girl's hand and kissed her cheek. The other boy kissed the blond girl, and they started walking towards the school.

"Yeah..." Angela's voice made me break me quite rude stare. "They are the Cullens and the Hales. The big guy is Emmett Cullen and the small girl is Alice Cullen, the other two are Rosalie and Jasper Hale, they're twins." I was still trying to process everything when it downed on me.

"_Cullen?_ They are Dr. Cullen's kids?" It was hard to believe, Dr. Cullen seemed so young.

"Yes, them and the Hales moved here at the beginning of the summer, apparently. There's another Cullen boy Jessica said, though I didn't know why he's not here, no one dared to ask. They are all adopted."

"Really? All of them?" That would explain, Dr. Cullen was way too young to have kids my age.

"Well, the Cullens are."

"Oh." was my amazing response.

As I was about to ask Angela a little more, the warning bell rang, so we headed to class.

The day was pretty normal. I got a lot of attention, for which my face stayed with a blush all day, but I tried to avoid as many questions as possible. At lunch the subject of the new kids was brought up and Jessica filled me in with everything.

They all came from Chicago, but they moved here because Dr. Cullen's wife lived here when she was a kid and wanted to come back, so they did it. She was apparently a very famous interior designer. The Hales were her nephew and niece and had lived with her since their parents died in a plane crash when they were barely four years old.

Dr. Cullen had already adopted three kids when he married Esme, his wife; Emmett, Alice and another boy, that according to Jessica his name was Edwin, or that's what she had heard them say once. But she still didn't know why he hadn't started classes yet, he was supposed to be in the same classes that we were.

"Don't you think it's weird, Bella? I mean they live together and they _are_ together!" Jessica had said once I asked her if they were effectively together. I just shrugged at her question; they weren't related so to me there was nothing wrong with it.

What I did fail to understand was how she got all this information, but I was afraid to ask. Just thinking about it made me shudder. She always knew _everything_.

As the days passed I didn't get all those stares and the annoying, intrusive questions anymore. Like _'What happened to you?' 'Are you okay?' 'How did it happen?'_ _'How did it feel?' 'When did it happen?'_ and the worst of them all _'What happened with your mom.' _There were a few that were a little less intrusive and not as rude and cruel as the rest, they would just say_ 'I'm sorry about your mom' _but it had the same effect on me. Every time someone said something like that to me I would have to hold with all the strength I'd got to not cry in front of everyone. There was one time I couldn't hold it anymore and stayed crying in the bathroom after the biology class, and used my leg as an excuse, but normally once I got home I wouldn't be able to hold it anymore and burst into tears as soon as I was in my room.

What did not change though, was the curiosity about the other Cullen boy. I had a few classes with Alice, the rest were all in senior year. Once I heard her talking to Emmett on the hallway.

_"Em, I'm going to see Edward today with Jazz, are you coming?"_ she had asked; that's how I supposed that his name was _Edward_ and not _Edwin_ as Jessica had said.

Today –my third week back at school– he was arriving, or that was the rumor, at least. It was obviously started by Jessica, but she had always been a reliable source so most of the people where expecting. Half of the girls in the school, including Jessica, were hoping he was just as good-looking as the others and single; and half of the boys that had now stopped drooling over Rosalie –scared by Emmett– were hating him for being so wanted without being known.

Just as everyone was getting disappointed they weren't coming, their usual cars arrived. I refused to look, for me it was rude to stare like that at people and it was something I didn't want happening to me.

I supposed that he was very good-looking, because as soon as the car arrived, Jessica's mouth fell open, and even Angela's did a little. I could see the entire school looking at one spot, every single person staring. The girls, of course, open mouthed and the boys glaring.

"Oh. My. God." Said Jess, turning to me and forcing me to look towards the new boy. "Bella, you have to see him, you don't know what you're losing." She told me.

Reluctantly I looked up and what I saw was not something I expected, not in a million years. My mouth fell open, not because he was gorgeous, which he was, but because I knew him. It was _him_, the green eyed angel from the hospital.

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**A/N: Thoughts? I am capable of writing long chapters too, how you like that?... :)  
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**So, finally the story had a little progress, how about that? I hope you liked it!**

**-Must say Congrats to Kristen Stewart for wining the award!!! I'm proud of her, aren't you?  
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**Thanks for reading and please Review!!! it might make what I know you wanna see happen actually happen... *wink*... lol Give me some luv? =)  
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	10. Chapter 10: Him

**A/N: Hello dear readers! Chapter 10 has arrived! I hope you like it!**

**Thanks to all the least chapter reviewers, and the ones that put the story on Alerts/Favorites!! You are all beyond amazing!**

**Oh! thanks to the amazing betas of Team Project Beta for beta-ing this chapter!!! :D  
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**As I found on the last chapter that I am capable of writing longer, I will do it from now on. lol**

**Anyway, Thanks everyone, and don't forget to review once you finish reading.

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Disclaimer: SM owns the Twilight world and its characters, I'm just borrowing them. No copyright infringement intended.

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**Chapter 10: _Him_.  
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**Bella's POV.**

_...I looked up and what I saw was not something I expected, not even in a million years. My mouth fell open, not because he was gorgeous, which he was, but because I knew him. It was _him_, the green eyed angel from the hospital..._

As I followed everyone else's stare I started to slowly blush. They were walking close to each other. With Emmett and Rosalie in the front and Alice and Jasper in the back, Edward was between the couples. It was almost as if they were trying to do the impossible and shield him from the stares. He didn't even seem slightly embarrassed. He just looked straight forward with a cold emotionless face.

They were all very fashionably dressed, except for Edward. He was wearing dark jeans, a gray t-shirt with writings I couldn't make out, and a black leather jacket. His somber appearance was a good match for his face, which didn't alter as they walked from his car to the main building.

When they disappeared into the building, the powerful silence disappeared with them. A rumbling of whispering voices filled the parking lot. Most of the girls still had their jaws dropped to the ground and they boys seemed to be fuming with anger and jealousy.

As the shock slowly subsided, the voices started getting louder. The rumors of why he missed school got progressively more and more crazy, _"he was totally in rehab"_ and _"he was in a mental institution''_ were the... most common ones. The gossip continued endlessly, and most of the comments were made by the jealous boys. I knew Edward had been in the hospital and that he was probably a victim of the fire. I knew the truth, but as long as his siblings kept quiet about it, I was going to do the same. It was not my place to talk about it.

When the bell rang, everybody left to its respective classes, but the whispering never stopped. In fact it got steadily worse, especially at lunch.

I sat at my usual table with Angela, Jessica, Mike, Ben, Eric, Lauren, and Tyler. They were all chatting when Angela and I got there, but when Jessica saw me she started talking endlessly about all she had found out.

"He doesn't talk to anybody!" she yelled. I slowly looked at the table where the others had been sitting for the past three weeks and there was no one there, which made me sigh in relief because I'm sure half of the cafeteria had heard Jessica yell.

"I had English with him and he sat in the back, not once did he say a word, but then the teacher asked him something and... _oh my god!_ When he answered I almost died! He's so hot!!" She was swooning over him, as was every other girl in the school. "I mean..." she said, trying to compose herself, "his voice is so damn hot, just like his body!" I giggled under my breath. It was typical of Jess to go right on having crashing on him, and he was gorgeous anyway.

"I told him '_hi'_ and he nodded at me. Bella, can you believe it? He nodded at _me!_" she squealed, and I sighed, this was going to be a long hour.

"Oh, come on Jess!" interrupted Lauren. "Stop it. You look desperate and besides, if he hasn't talked to anyone then he's not interested. He just nodded at you, just a _nod_, for God's sake!"

"You're just jealous, Lauren. Face it!" she spat angrily. "As I was saying, he nodded at me..." she continued this time calmer, less excited." And I found out he had an accident, that's why he wasn't here the first month of classes. His name is Edward Cullen and he's adopted just as the other Cullens, but most importantly he's _single!_" She was squealing again.

With another sigh, I gave Angela an I-can't-take-it-anymore-look and she nodded at me. I got up with her; we said our goodbyes and left for class. I had Biology and she had English on the next period.

When I got into the room, it was completely empty, if not for Mr. Banner.

"Hello, Mr. Banner," I greeted him as I went into the classroom.

"Hello, Miss Swan," he answered back.

I took my seat in the second row and waited patiently for the class to start. Biology was one of the easiest classes for me because I had already done most of the lessons and lab work back in Phoenix; so I didn't mind sitting alone, it was actually nice. In my other classes I had someone I already knew sitting next to me, and I appreciated them being there but I had always felt more comfortable working alone.

Before I realized it, the classroom was already almost full. As I started to take my books and notebook out, I heard the chair next to me move and I froze. My heart beat had increased rapidly and my breathing was raged. I didn't know why I panicking just because someone was sitting next to me, but then I felt the familiar heat rise to me cheek and instantaneously knew _who_ was sitting next to me.

I felt this strange sense of déjà vu when I slowly raised my eyes to confirm my theory. It was, in fact, _him_. But he wasn't looking at me; he was staring at the front of the room with a fierce look on his face. It wasn't until that moment that I noticed that his left arm was in a cast. _He must be in pain_, I thought.

His face was still as it was this morning; hard, emotionless. Once he was, dare I say, comfortable and with his book in the table he turned to me. At that point, my face was of and intense shade of red. "H-Hi," I managed to choke out.

"Hi," he answered his voice distant and cold, but the corner of his lips formed a small smile, a _forced_ smile.

The rest of the class was spent in silence. I never spoke with him again, nor did he speak with me. I, though, stole a few glances his way and his eyes never left the blackboard in front of us. I took meticulous notes on every word Mr. Banner said, even though they were mostly unnecessary.

When the bell finally rang I gathered my things slowly and left the room without saying a word. He didn't say anything either. I wasn't going to get worked up over something as insignificant as that.

With a raised chin, I walked into Calculus, but found Alice to be sitting in my assigned seat. She was writing furiously in her notebook, I didn't want to disturb her so I just took the sit next to her.

"I'm sorry, is this your seat?" she asked after all my things already on the table.

"It's okay, is just a seat," I told her.

"I'm Alice by the way," she said stretching her hand for me to shake it.

"Bella," I said, taking my hand back.

"You know? We should go out sometime. I don't have any girl friends here. I only know Rose and I think no one likes us here, you're the only one who actually talked to me, " she said with a sad face.

I was, at first, very shocked by how she just asked without even knowing me, but I loved it. "Sure," I answered truthfully.

Her calm demeanor immediately changed, squealing as she hugged me. "We are going to be great friends, Bella!"

That hour of Calculus ended up being the best I'd ever had. She told me everything about herself. The teacher called our attention a few times, but seeing Alice was not going to stop, he just let us be. We tried to be quiet, but every once in a while Alice would squeal and the teacher would shoot us an angry glare.

She told me she was from Chicago as was the rest of her family. She was adopted when she was seven years old by Dr. Cullen. Her mother had died of cancer when she was only five years old, and she had never met her father. After her mother's death she was taken into a foster home until Carlisle rescued her. Every time she spoke of her mother, her eyes would show a glimpse of sadness, but once she talked with about her father, as she referred to Carlisle, her eyes would shine with happiness. It was clear she loved him as her own father, just as she loved Esme, Carlisle's wife. She told me they had lived with the Hales for five years now and that Jasper was her boyfriend since they first met.

All the little stories she told me made me smile. Even, though, it was clear she missed her mom. She had lost her when she was very young so her memories of her were more of a blur, she had said. She was the most enthusiastic person I had ever met.

Oh! And she loved shopping.

"We should go this weekend to Port Angles. I was there last week and saw some amazing stores," she was saying as we walked toward our next class.

"Um... we will talk about it later, okay? I have to go to P.E," I told her once I'd spotted Mike on his was to the gym, it was also a way out of the conversation.

"Sure, I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'll pick you up on Saturday, 10am" she said leaving without giving me a chance to argue.

Shaking my head and smiling, I walked with Mike into the gym. I was not fully recovered, but I could walk and drive now, so I had to play some of the games that didn't require too much exercise.

As the class started, I went to sit by the coach. It was the only place I could actually sit, and even though I was not playing today I had to stay and watch.

"I'm sorry I'm late. I couldn't find the gym," said a male voice next to me. He was obviously talking to the coach.

It was odd because everyone else was already playing, there was no one missing, and that's when it downed me, it was _him._ Edward was in my P.E class.

I went red in an instant. Why did he have to be in the class I dreaded the most? the class in which I most likely was going to fall every two seconds?

With a heavy sigh and a shake of my head, I stared as my other classmates played tennis, trying to ignore him talking to the coach.

"Do you mind...?" he trailed off and I looked up to see him asking me if he could sit there. Every rational thought escaped my head and all I manage to do was nod.

"Do- Don't you play?" I asked after a few minutes of awkward silence.

"No, I can't, my arm..." he trailed off again. Raising my eyes, I stared at his casted arm.

"Does it hurt?" I asked, not even diverting my eyes.

"It's bearable," was all he said.

We didn't talk for the rest of the class and when the bell rang he put his backpack over his shoulder and started walking out. I slowly walked out behind him, but being the clumsiest person on Earth I couldn't have a day off, so I tripped with my own feet, falling to the ground on my knees.

The pain that run through my body from my knee was simply excruciating. My eyes started watering and I look around to see if anyone had seen me fall, but the gym was empty, the class had gone to get changed.

With the tears now rolling down my cheeks, I used all the strength I had and stood up. Every step I took made me sob even harder; the movement necessary to walk made the pain beyond excruciating, if that was even possible.

I had managed to walk behind the P.E building when the pain took its best on me. I couldn't go any farther. I couldn't walk and wouldn't be able to drive either, not until the pain went away, or at least until it was bearable.

Once I sat on the ground, a surge of pain washed through me again making all the air in my lungs escape my body suddenly. Gasping for air I hugged my bag tightly, as my face was stained with tears.

"Who's there?" someone said and I stopped breathing all together. "Are you okay?" it asked again.

I nodded my answer and looked in the opposite way, hiding my face with my hair, afraid they will see my tears. Then I felt someone keeling next to me and a hand touching my arm that was still tightly hugging my bag, at its touch a strange current of electricity ran up my arm making me flinch with surprise.

The movement made my leg move, which made the pain increase again. A strangled sob escaped my lips before I had time to cover it with my hand, and a new wave of tears were now pouring down my face.

Suddenly I felt fingers on my chin, they were moving it so that I was facing whoever was next to me, and with a clenched jaw I opened my eyes to see...

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**A/N: *evil grin* cliffhanger..... lol... who do you think it is?  
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**I might as well add that if you want to know when the story may be updated, ask something, or just chat you can find me on Twitter (ele05gs) or on the other links on my profile. The story is also on Worpress if you want to take a look, feel free to do it.  
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**Thanks for reading, please review!!!!****  
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	11. Chapter 11: Hurting

**A/N: Hello dear readers! Chapter 11 has arrived!  
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**OMG!!! We've reached 100 reviews!!! this is so freaking awesome!!! You guys don't know how happy this makes me! :) I love you all lots!!  
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**Thanks to all the reviewers, and the ones that put the story on Alerts/Favorites!! You are all beyond amazing! And thanks to _'Say Goodbye Again_' & _'TRDancer'_ the amazing betas of TPB for beta-ing this chapter as well!!! I love you all dearly.  
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**Anyway, Thanks everyone, and don't forget to review once you finish reading.**

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Disclaimer: SM owns the Twilight world and its characters, I'm just borrowing them. No copyright infringement intended.

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**Chapter 11: Hurting****.  
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**Bella's POV.**

_I felt someone sitting next to me and a hand touching my arm, which was still tightly hugging my bag. At its touch, a strange current of electricity ran up my arm making me flinch with surprise._

_The movement made my leg move as well, making the pain increase again, which made a strangled sob escape my lips before I had the chance to cover it with my hand, along with a new wave of tears that were now pouring down my face._

_Suddenly, I felt fingers on my chin. They moved me so that I was facing whomever was next to me, and with a clenched jaw I opened my eyes to see... _my mom?

_My eyes widened and the tears were flowing like a river, nonstop._

_"Mo... mom?"_

_"It's me baby, you're okay," she said, wiping the tears away._

_"Am I dead?" I asked, confused._

_"Of course not, Bella. Don't say things like that." Her voice had a strict tone in it._

_"But-" Looking around I realized I was not at school; I was at my mom's house in Phoenix._

_"Bella, look at me," she said, taking my face on both of her hands, "You just had a bad dream, baby. It's okay, I'm here with you."_

_"Mom!" I cried, getting out of bed and on her lap, hugging her tightly._

_Giggling and running her hand gently through my hair she said, "It's okay, what was the dream about, sweetheart? Do you want to talk about it?" _

_"It-," thinking it better, I just shook my head and hugged her tighter. How could I tell her I dreamed she had an accident and died? I couldn't, I _wouldn't_._

_"You know? Let's have breakfast; it will make you forget the nightmare. I made everything you like..." she trailed off and started to get up from the bed, but I grabbed her hand and forced her to stay. "Bella, it was just a dream, it's okay. Come on, let's go," she said again tugging on my hand._

_"Promise me you will never leave me, Mom." I asked her with tears in my eyes again._

_"Bella..." she said_, _sighing. _

_"Promise me, mom!"_

_"Bella, I will never leave you, I promise. You know that," she said_. _Tears on her eyes now, hugging me one more before time she got up and took me out of the room._

_I stopped at the doorway to put some shoes on, but when I turned around_, _she was gone. "Mom?" I asked confused "Mom?!" I asked again, more forcefully this time. "Mom, where are you?!"_

_"Isabella? Isabella, are you okay?" That was not my mom's voice, she wouldn't call me Isabella._

_"Mom! "_

"Isabella, are you okay?" The same voice asked, shaking my shoulders slightly. "Isabella, open your eyes," the voice demanded, and so I did.

When I opened my eyes again, I was not in my mom's house anymore, I was back at the school. And the person next to me was not my mother, it was Edward.

"Isabella, are you okay?" he asked again.

I nodded and looked around, disorientated; I was in the back part of the gym, sitting against it. My legs stretched in front of me and Edward kneeling next to me, a confused and worried look on his face.

"Wh -What happened?"

"I'm not sure," he answered. "I was just walking towards my car to wait for my siblings, but then I came back into the gym because I forgot I had to make the coach sign the paper for me. When I was heading out again, I heard a noise and I saw you there. You fainted for about fifteen minutes, I think," he finished, his eyes running across my face worriedly.

I was looking at him wide-eyed. It was after all, just a bad dream, but my mom seemed so real, her touch so soft and warm. I sighed as a single tear rolled down my cheek.

"Are you hurt?" asked Edward. Hearing his voice, I looked up. I had forgotten he was still here with me; I wiped the tear away and nodded.

"When I fell, I hurt my leg," I said trying to move it, but as I did, another wave of pain ran through my body. "I -I broke it in an accident, but..." I trailed off, took a deep breath and continued. "But it's okay, now. I can take it, just go," I told him.

"Are you sure?" he asked me, eying me skeptically. I just nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

I looked at him, surprised and terrified at the same time. I was not okay; if I got up I was going to lose it. I needed some time to make the pain, both physical and emotional, go away. Shaking my head I looked away. "You go, your siblings must be waiting for you, I'll go in a few," I said, my voice shaking. I was on the verge of tears again.

When the silence filled the air, I supposed he was just gone. I sighed, hugging my bag tightly again as the tears I couldn't hold anymore started rolling down my cheeks.

"Why are you lying to me?" someone asked softy, startling me. It was him again.

"I'm not lying!" I shouted, exasperated. "Just leave me alone! Go!"

I saw, from the corner of my eye, him flinching slightly at my voice. "Okay!" he shouted back. "If you don't want help, then screw yourself! I'm out of here." His face was red with anger.

"Edward!" someone called from behind us. "Edward, what are you doing there, we're waiting for you." It was Alice.

Seeing me, her face turned into horror. "Bella!" She screamed, running towards me. "Bella, are you okay? Why are you crying?" she asked, kneeling next to me and taking my face in her hands.

I looked away, trying to avoid her gaze. "Bella?" She asked again and I shook my head. Turning to Edward she said, "Why were you shouting at her, Edward? What did you do to her? " Her voice showed her anger.

"I was just trying to help her, she wouldn't let me. I got a little angry. I'm sorry," he said sheepishly.

"You made her cry, Edward!" Alice shouted, exasperated.

"No, he didn't," I interfered before things got worse. "It's my fault, I fell and my leg hurt, that's all. I'm okay now, just go home, Alice, " I told her, taking a deep breath and closing my eyes.

"No, she's not, " said Edward. "Alice, I think she's in real pain; she even fainted."

"What?!" Alice shrieked. "Edward, call Emmett, we are taking her to the hospital!"

"No!" I shouted. "Just help me up, I'm okay," I said, pleading with my eyes. "Alice, please, just help me up. I'm okay, it's unnecessary to go to the hospital."

Without another word I extended my hand so that Alice could help me up. Squeezing my eyes shut, I tried getting up. She held my hand and slowly helped me up, but she was too small, she couldn't support all my weight. Squeezing my eyes tighter, gritting my teeth together and fisting my other hand around my bag until my knuckles were white, I flexed my legs to get up. The pain that shot through me left me gasping for air.

I could feel the pain in my knuckles and my eyes watering as I made an effort to get up. Suddenly an arm snaked around my waist and pulled me up from the ground. I squeaked, feeling the emptiness below my feet. Then we were moving.

When I opened my eyes we were nearing the parking lot, which was empty apart from my truck, the Hales' BMW and the Cullens' jeep. I was being carried, bridal style, by Emmett. When we finally reached the cars, they spoke.

"What's going on?" asked Rosalie first, an annoyed look on her face.

"Is she hurt?" asked Jasper, confusion clear on his face.

"No, I'm not," I spoke up.

"Yes, you are," said Alice. "She fell down and hurt the leg she broke in the accident, right, Edward?" she said, looking at him. He just nodded and she continued. "We need to take her to the hospital. Rose and Jazz, you can go home if you want."

"No, you are not. Emmett, put me down," I said more forcefully.

Once he put me down, I rested my body by the truck to hold me up, afraid to rest all my weight -or any for that matter- on my injured leg. "Alice, I am not going to the hospital, nor are you taking me, besides, I can't leave the truck."

"If that's the problem, I'll take it," she said confidently. "Bella, you're in pain, I can see it in your face."

Breathing in deeply I said, "Enough, Alice! I don't want to go." As I slightly put my foot on the ground, I winced, and Alice saw it.

"See? Okay, Bella, if you don't want me to take you to the hospital, then let me drive you home, you clearly can't drive," she said matter of factly.

"I'll accept the drive home," I said nodding to myself. I wouldn't be able to drive anyway.

Turning to look at her siblings and the Hales she said, "You guys follow me, I'll drive her." They just nodded and moved to get into their cars.

As Alice went into the driver's seat, I slowly tried walking towards the passenger's side door. Watching me struggle, Alice simply nodded towards me and Emmett got out of the jeep to help me, but before he got to me, I held my hand up. "No," I said. "I can do it."

"Bella..." Alice said, in a disapproving tone. "It's faster that way."

Sighing, I nodded and Emmett carried me to the passenger's seat. When I was safely inside with the seatbelt on, he closed the door, and Alice started the engine.

"I'm not disabled, you know?" I said, breaking the silence after a few minutes of ride.

Alice just giggled. "I know, Bella. But why can't you accept a little help? We are just worried about you..." she said, a sad look on her face.

"_We?_"

"Yes, _we_. And... I'm sorry about Edward, he just got back from... and, well, he's quite stubborn, just like you," she said, snickering.

"It's okay, it was my fault." It was, in fact, my fault. He was just trying to help me and I understood that, I just didn't want any help.

"Was it only your leg that hurt?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah... why?"

"You look... in pain, but it's beyond physical..." She trailed off.

It was beyond physical... She was right. Thinking about my mother had made the wound wide open again, and it hurt like it never did before. The feeling of loss and emptiness I was having was becoming overwhelming, unbearable. And there was nothing I could do about it, _nothing_. I couldn't get her back, it was impossible. But I couldn't replace her either, she was irreplaceable, she would always be.

"Bella?" Alice asked after I didn't answer her, but instead of doing so, I just shrugged and she let it go.

"Do you want me to pick you up tomorrow?"

"No, it's okay. By tomorrow I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically. "Will you call me if you can't drive?" I just nodded in agreement and she sighed, shaking her head.

For the rest of the ride, I tuned out Alice's unrelentless spew of words, imagining the car was silent.

When we arrived home I opened my door and slowly got out of the car, but before I took one step, Emmett was by my side and lifting me up.

"I can walk," I protested.

"No, you can't," he argued back.

"Where's the key?" asked Alice, who was already by the door. Reaching into the front pocket of my bag, I took the key out and handed it to Alice.

Once we were effectively inside, Emmett put me down on the coach and Alice put a pillow below my injured leg. "When will your dad be home?"

"Um... in like two hours?" I said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Two hours!" Alice shouted alarmed.

"Alice, calm down! I'll survive and thanks for everything, all of you. I owe you one, " I said, blushing slightly.

"No, Bella. I can't leave you here alone for two hours! What if you need something, like to go to the bathroom, or eat something or..."

"Alice, you worry too much. I can take care of my self, besides; if I needed to go to the bathroom you wouldn't be able to carry me..." I said, giggling.

"Would you call me if you need anything?" I nodded, but she wouldn't have that. "Promise me, Bella."

"I promise, Alice, okay?"

"Okay," she said, kissing my cheek before getting up to go, closing the door behind her.

I listened intently until I heard the cars going away to try to get up. I tried and tried for about half an hour maybe, but once my foot touched the floor, the pain would increase incredibly.

Taking a few deep breaths and squeezing the pillow in my hand tightly, I slowly got up and walked into the kitchen. Resting my body against the counter, I opened the refrigerator and took the orange juice out, pouring myself a glass.

A million deep breaths, a throbbing hand and a bottle of orange juice later, I was one step away from my room when I heard the front door swing open_. Charlie's early,_ I thought. That is, until I heard a piercing scream. Alice.

"Upstairs, Alice!" I shouted so she could hear me.

"Bella!" she yelled, running up the stairs. "How did you get here?"

"Oh... um... I don't know, I was here when I woke up," I said mockingly.

"Ha-ha, very funny," she said walking closer to me ."Carlisle is here to check on your leg."

"What?! Alice... I told you I was okay."

"And I didn't listen, now go into your room and sit on the bed." I did as I was told because after all it took me to get here, there was no way in hell I was going down again. "Dad! Up here, come!" she shouted, stepping into the room.

Dr. Cullen examined my leg meticulously. After he was finished, he wrote something on a paper and told me to stay in bed until tomorrow. It wasn't as if I could get up anyway. He gave me a few pills for the pain and because apparently my knee was a bit swollen. "Tomorrow come to the hospital so I can x-ray your leg, just to be sure it's not fractured," he had told me. Taking advantage of that, Alice chose the moment to tell me she would pick me up the next morning, but gave me no chance to argue as she ran out of the room and down the stairs.

Once I heard the front door was successfully closed, I sighed. Alice was impossible, but was proving herself as a very good friend. And even though I was in an immense amount of emotional as well as physical pain, a friend like Alice could be everything that I needed.

Taking one of the pills that Dr. Cullen had given me, I fell asleep without major problems.

When I woke up the next morning, I was stiff from not moving the whole night, but the pain in my leg had somehow subsided. Getting out of bed, I took a quick shower and went down the stairs to have some breakfast. When I got to the kitchen, I found Charlie sitting on his usual chair, reading his newspaper.

"Hey, Dad!"

"Hey, Bells. How are you feeling?" I looked at him, confused, so he explained. "Carlisle told me you fell at school and that your leg was hurting."

"Oh! Yeah, I'm okay," I said.

After I had breakfast, I changed into school clothes and grabbed my bag. Charlie had gone to work a while ago, so before I went to the front door, I washed the breakfast dishes. When I was nearing the front door I heard a horn. _Alice_, I thought and smiled to myself.

Locking the door, I walked towards her car cautiously. "Good morning, Bella! How's the leg?" Alice greeted me excitedly once I was inside her _yellow_ car.

"Morning, Alice. And it's better; it doesn't hurt that much anymore."

-

The first periods flew by and soon enough we were at lunch. Everything was like a blur to my eyes, passing in front of me, never stopping. All I really wanted to do was get to my biology class so I could say sorry and thanks to Edward for what he did for me.

When lunch was finally over, I walked with Angela to my class, she grabbed my arm and kept me stable, despite my protests that I could walk perfectly.

"I'll see you, Bella," she called over her shoulder as she headed to her class, leaving me in the doorway of the biology building.

I went inside and waited for the class to start. When he finally arrived I just couldn't speak, the words wouldn't come out. That's how I spent the whole hour. The time once again flew by, not only did I not take a single note, but I didn't hear a word Mr. Banner said.

Breathing in deeply and convincing myself -again- that this was what I should do, that it was the right thing to do, I turned to him for the first time in the whole hour.

He was gathering his books and notebook, putting everything in his backpack, not looking at me. Shaking my head and breathing in and out slowly, I called for him. "Edward?"

He looked up, surprised, staring at me right in the eyes. His piercing green eyes burning into mine, just like the first time I saw him at the hospital. "I wanted to apologize."

"For what?" he looked confused.

"For yesterday... I know you were just trying to help me and I was rude, it was my fault and I'm... sorry."

"It's okay," was all he said, still staring at me.

"So... um... thanks... for everything.," I told him sincerely, nodding to myself.

"It's okay, Isabella. Really."

"Call me Bella."

"Bella, then," he said , smiling slightly.

"So... friends?" I asked, stretching my hand in front of me for him to shake. I know what you're wondering now, it's the same thing I'm wondering. _Why in hell did I just do that?!_

He hesitated at first, and I looked down, starting to take my hand back, disappointed and feeling like an idiot, then he took it and shook it. "Friends," he said, but I barely heard him, the electricity humming through my body left me unmoving and speechless.

* * *

**A/N: Thought? What do you think will happen next?**

**I know most of you thought/wanted it to be Edward but it would be too predictable... I just wanted to play a bit, it was him after all ..lol... and as some of you pointed out she wouldn't/shouldn't feel the electricity if it wasn't him. :)  
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**I will make a confession now, I truly didn't know I could write long chapters, but I can! I hope you don't mind though. It was very hard to stop writing this chapter, I was.... excited? ... I don't really know.**

**Well I have to go now... got a bus to caught... lol... I do, I'm leaving in *looks at the clock* 30 minutes. Hope you liked it. I have to tell you this though, the next chapter might take a bit longer because I'm starting college in two days, my free time will be reduced.  
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**Anyway, thanks for reading and please review!!!!****  
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	12. Chapter 12: Friends or not

**A/N: Good Evening dear readers. How have you all been? I hope you are well. I'm _so_ sorry it took so long, but I did it a bit longer for you.  
**

**So I'll just get to what matters now and on the bottom Author Note I'll explain everything.**

**Thanks for reading/reviewing/favorite-ing/alert-ing this story, it means a lot. You are all truly amazing.**

**And a huge thanks to ****_ms. ambrosia _****&_ kaydee1005 _****for beta-ing this chapter! And dealing with my huge punctuation problems! Thanks ladies!** **And I'm working on it!**_  
_

**Now Enjoy.

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**Chapter ****12: Friends... or not.  
**

**Bella's POV**

_He hesitated at first, and I looked down, starting to take my hand back, disappointed and feeling like an idiot; then he took it and shook it. "Friends," he said, but I barely heard him. The electricity humming through my body left me unmoving and speechless._

He wasn't moving or speaking either;maybe he felt the same current of electricity I did, maybe not, but he just stayed there staring at me, unblinkingly. After a few moments, the silence bubble created around us disappeared and the silence became extremely awkward.

"Um... I-I have to go, I have Calculus now..." I said, breaking our stare first. "The teacher doesn't like us to be late..."

"Of course," he replied, letting go of my hand. I immediately missed the contact, but composed myself before he noticed it and grabbed my bag.

"I guess I'll see you in P.E. then?" I asked, leaving the room, not really giving him the chance to reply, though I thought I heard a faint _"Sure" _in the background.

Calculus was just another blur in the day, with Alice talking non-stop, as always. This time though, I didn't hear a word she said. My mind was wandering back to what happened in Biology, back to Edward and the feeling of his hand holding mine.

I didn't want to be one more girl swooning over Edward at school, but the mere thought of him made my heartbeat quicken. The electricity current I felt when I touched him was real, and for a moment I thought he felt it too.

Once Calculus was over Alice had to shake me out of my thoughts, quite literally.

"Bella?" she asked, shaking my shoulder lightly. Once my eyes met hers, she continued. "Bella, wait by my car in the parking lot when your class is over. I'll meet you there and take you to the hospital to see my Dad." As I rolled my eyes at her in response, she tried again, more forcefully this time. "Wait there, Bella." There was almost a warning note in her tone.

"Yes, Mom," I answered playfully, not really thinking about what I had said, but when it dawned on me, my face fell.

Memories passed in front of my eyes, like a playing movie: my mom and I playing in the kitchen, trying to bake a cake; Mom hugging me on my first school day; how she cried all night the day before I left for Forks, though she never found out I heard her or that I cried myself to sleep as well. I remembered her kissing me good night every night since I was a child. Then I recalled flashes from the accident; how happy she had been that I was going with her for her birthday, her strangled scream in the moment of the crash, the shattering of glass and finally, a gravestone with her name, indicating that I would never see her again, never hug her again, never kiss her again or reproach her for being too silly, never see her kind eyes ever again.

It wasn't until Alice hugged me tightly, breaking the reverie, that I felt the moisture on my cheeks; I was crying, breaking down at school again.

I didn't hug her back. "Gotta go, Alice. I'll see you later," I said, my voice shaking as I rushed out of the room and away from her and her sympathetic and understanding eyes. I was sure she wouldn't pry. She wouldn't make me say something I didn't want to, or something I didn't feel comfortable talking about, but her eyes had a soft hint of curiosity, a curiosity I couldn't fulfill. So I left her there standing puzzled and ran away into the drizzling afternoon of Forks, feeling broken, like it had just happened all over again.

While walking to P.E. I took a few deep, calming breaths and wiped my face with my sweater sleeve.

P.E was the last place I wanted to be in that moment, not for the fact that I hated it with passion, which I did, but because my mom's memories were tearing me apart. My eyes were red from crying and Edward would be there.

I considered ditching P.E. for the first time in my life, but decided against it because of Charlie; even though I wasn't doing anything important in that class, skipping would not make him happy,", so I reluctantly walked through the gym's doors.

Just as I thought things wouldn't get worse,_ couldn't_ get worse, I had to sit next to Edward in a painful proximity, after a very awkward _"Hi" _from both of us.

Halfway through the period the coach dismissed us, as we weren't doing anything. I thought I was lucky, but that was until I realized I would have to wait for Alice for half a period—with Edward. As we walked towards the parking lot, the silence was becoming, ridiculously awkward, so I tried speaking up. "So, um..." I started as I thought of some way to start a conversation with him. "When are you taking the cast off?"

It wasn't until I saw Edward's pained expression that I realized I must have made a mistake asking him about it. "A few more days," he said in whisper. I just nodded to let him know that I heard him, but didn't ask anything else.

After a few more moments, the silence was becoming slightly less awkward.

"Let's go sit over there," I said, pointing to some picnic tables. "I'm tired."

As I looked up and our eyes met, I saw surprise there and realized that he might not want to go sit with me, so I re-phrased. "You don't have to come, I'll... um... I'll just go..." I whispered. When he didn't answer I started walking away, my eyes cast down.

"No, wait," he called behind me, making me look back. "I'll go with you," he said as he walked towards me. "You always jump to conclusions, don't you?" he asked, chuckling lightly.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Why would you think I didn't want to come sit here with you?" he asked.

I blushed. "Um... I don't... your face," I finally concluded.

"You should read it better, Bella," he said, chuckling again. I didn't pay attention to the fact that he was sort of offending me as I was distracted by his chuckle; I'd never seen him so light before and I liked that it was thanks to me, _because_ of me, but maybe it was _at_ me, but I didn't care.

"Is Alice always this bossy?" I asked him after a few moments, spotting Alice waving at us from the front door. "She's_ making_ me go even when I told her it wasn't necessary."

"She's right and you know it," he said seriously, which confused me. "You should go to the hospital, at least to check if your leg is okay," he explained. I nodded. "And yes, she's always bossy. Wait till you go shopping with her," he finished in a whisper, as if he was talking with himself. Smiling and shaking his head.

"Bella!" Alice called loudly once she was sure I would hear her. She did it a bit too loudly though, making the people around look at us. I lowered my eyes to the ground, my face heating up and reddening.

"Bella, come on!" she called again. I just shook my head and got up to follow her. Edward did the same and I could have sworn I heard him trying to stifle laughter, but I let it go.

On the ride to the hospital Alice told me everything about the weekend shopping trip we were having. As Edward and the rest were leaving with Emmett -by Alice's commands- I had no one to rescue me from the shopping trip she had planned. _I will have to make an excuse by Friday_, I thought to myself.

**-:-**

"Everything is okay, Bella," Dr. Cullen assured me after he had checked my leg twice and made a couple of x-rays.

"Thanks Dr. Cullen," I said politely. Then I looked at Alice with an I-told-you-so kind of expression; she just grinned widely at me.

"That's awesome, Bella!" she squealed excitedly. "Now we can go without anything to worry about!"

"Sure, Alice," I said, trying my best to sound excited for her sake, but there was not a thing that would make her less excited about a shopping trip, no matter how my mood was.

"Rosalie will come with us. We're gonna have so much fun!" she squealed again, bouncing up and down. I covered my ears, faking pain, making her laugh loudly.

Her laugh was actually contagious and suddenly I found myself laughing along with her, successfully forgetting all my problems. Despite the fact that I hated shopping, and always would, I was sure I would have fun with Alice. There was a very good chance though that I wouldn't make it back alive the next day; shopping was tiring.

"Do you want me to pick you up again tomorrow?" she asked as she pulled over at my driveway.

"No, I'm okay. I can drive," I told her, shaking my head. "Alice, thanks for everything," I said truthfully.

"Don't worry about it, Bella," she said, hugging my tightly. "I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Sure," I said, hugging her back before getting out of the car.

I waved at her until the car was no longer in sight and then went inside.

Once I was inside, the first thing Charlie asked me was if I had seen Dr. Cullen. I nodded and explained to him how he told me everything was okay and that there was nothing to worry about.

After dinner Charlie went to the living room and seated himself on the couch to watch a baseball game on T.V, as I washed the dishes.

**-:-**

"Shit!" I cursed loudly as I tried to start the engine of my truck for the hundredth time. With one more try, and one more fail, I gave up all together and hopped out of it. _I guess I'll just have to go walking_, I thought.

As I started towards the road I heard a horn behind me. I looked back to find Alice's car driving my way. "Get in, Bella," she said, rolling her window down and pointing with her finger to the backseat.

I just went for it, thankful that she hadn't listened to me and that I wouldn't have to walk to school and arrive incredibly late. It wasn't until I was safely in the backseat that I noticed Jasper on the passenger's side and Edward looking quite annoyed next to me.

"Hi, Bella," said Jasper, smiling. I responded with a timid_ hi_ and he turned around, grabbing Alice's hand while she drove.

"Hi." I greeted Edward next, but he just nodded in acquaintance, saying nothing.

Again that day passes as a blur to me, and so did the days after that. They were still agonizingly slow, though.

When I got to Biology that day, Edward was already sitting in his designed place, looking straight ahead -again. This time, though, he had a distant look on his face, instead of a cold expression, as if he wasn't even there, as if he was traveling in his mind. Sitting down I gave him a tentative_ 'Hi' _which he never answered to. I didn't know if it was because he wasn't listening or if he simply didn't want to talk.

In P.E. I did the same thing; I told him "Hi" just out of politeness really and he nodded at me, but didn't make an attempt to speak -and neither did I- as we sat there in silence and waited for the period to be over.

By the end of the week I had stopped greeting him all together, tired of his nods. In all honesty, it pissed me off. _Would it kill him to say hi? _It was just two letters, but he wouldn't say them, so I stubbornly stopped saying them too.

Every time I saw him in Biology or P.E I would just look at him briefly, but say nothing. He, on the other hand, wouldn't even look at me, which for a moment left me wondering if I had done something wrong. That thought was quickly left to the side as I, after all, had tried to talk with him and _he_ was the one that wouldn't say a word.

_You are obviously not friends anymore_, said the annoying little voice in my head, well known as my subconscious._ Nor should I have asked him in the first place_, I though bitterly.

Adding to the fact that _'the Edward situation'_ was becoming more and more awkward with each passing day, I had had a horrible nightmare the night before about the accident and my mother, making me stay awake the whole night just to avoid having it again. So, yes I had had less than what was counted as a minimum amount of sleep, and yes, I was quite a bit grumpy.

At lunch on Friday Jessica made my mood ten times worse by asking what I was sure she had been dying to ask the whole week.

"Hey, Bella," Jessica greeted me happily once I got to my place at our lunch table.

"Hey, Jess. What's up?" I said, smiling somehow warily back at her.

"You know, Bella?" she started. "There's something I wanted to ask you about all week, but didn't have the chance to."

I sighed heavily before replying reluctantly. "What is it?"

"Well…" she started, a smile on her face. "What's going on between you and Edward?" She asked directly then. Honestly I thought she would be more subtle, but I guess I was wrong.

"What do you mean?" I asked cautiously. Knowing Jess for a few years now meant I knew her quite well; if I told her just what she wanted to know, in a heartbeat the whole town would know about it.

"You know… are you like… um… dating?"

Though I had expected something like that coming, _date_ was not a word I thought she would use. My eyes widened with panic as realization dawned on my face. _Was that what the whole school was thinking? We didn't even talk to each other anymore, for god's sake!_

"Why would you think that?" I asked, the alarm evident in my voice despite my efforts to hide it.

"Oh… I-I just saw the two of you together the other day, by the picnic tables…" she trailed off as if making her point clear.

"Oh," was my incredibly smart response. I was surprised she had seen us as there wasn't anyone out while we had been there, most of the time.

"So, are you together?" she asked again.

"No, no," I answered quickly. "No, of course not." I tried hiding the frustration in my voice, more successfully this time than the last.

"Great!" she squealed suddenly, earning a glare from me. "I… um… _okay_. So you guys are like friends?"

"No?" I said, but it came out as a question. I didn't know if we were still friends, not after such a long time without speaking despite the fact that we saw each other all the time. _Hell, of course we weren't friends anymore! We have never been friends._

"So could you ask him if he would like to go out with me sometime?"

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Well, you did talk to him after all and he talked to you so… could you like ask him?"

"Why would I do that?" I asked, feeling annoyed now.

"Because you're my friend." She said it so certain of herself that I felt guilty for being annoyed at her; she always was like this and I knew it. She was in fact, after all, my friend.

Sighing, defeated, I agreed. "Okay," I said, nodding, but felt compelled to warn her. "But don't get mad at me later if he says no, okay?"

"Of course, Bella. Thank you!" she squealed again, hugging me. I let go of her quickly and excused myself out of the cafeteria.

I was dreading what I had to do in Biology, but I was going to do it, I had promised Jess I would.

When I arrived at the classroom I was really nervous, my face reddening by the minute, and my heart beating furiously. It had been a few days since I had talked to him the last time and it was making me anxious and nervous.

Once I was successfully inside the room and in my seat I turned to him. Not even waiting for him to turn, I blurted it all out.

"Jessica asked me to ask you if you wanted to go out sometime. Watch a movie or something?" I said, rushing through the words.

When I finished, I looked up from my fidgeting hands. He was staring at me, confusion clear on his face, but as I stared deep into his eyes, I swore I could see hope there.

_Maybe he likes her,_ I thought to myself.

"Okay… sure," he answered after a moment. Hearing his agreement made me feel something I couldn't quite identify at the moment.

"Okay, here," I said, handing him a piece of paper. "She wrote her address for you to pick her up at her house, tomorrow at 5pm," I finished, looking down at my lap again and pulling at my sweater's sleeves.

"_She?" _he asked, clearly confused.

"Yes, Jessica."

_"Jessica?" _he asked again.

I just stared at him for a moment, thinking he was joking and wanted to annoy me further, but he seemed genuinely confused, so I explained. "Edward, Jessica asked me, to ask _you_, if you wanted to go out with her sometime," I repeated.

As realization dawned on him, his expression turned into the one of pure horror, his eyes widening. "Oh," was all he managed to choke out for a while.

"I'll tell her you said yes," I told him, as he didn't speak up again. Then I turned to face the board, avoiding his eyes and ending the conversation.

Though it seemed he had other ideas as, just moments later, I felt a cold hand gripping my own and then a yell. "No!" he said, loud enough for the whole class to hear.

I could feel the blush rising up my neck as I looked up at him.

"No," he repeated, though softer this time. "I don't want to go. Tell her I said no," he finished, giving my hand a little squeeze.

"But you said yes before," I said, confused as why he had changed his mind.

"I changed my mind," he said, letting go of my hand and looking away.

"Who did you think I was talking about, Edward?" I pressed further. "You asked me who I was talking about, who did you think it was?"

"No one," he answered curtly.

"Then why-"

He cut me off abruptly, not letting me finish. "I don't _know_, Bella. Okay?" His voiced showed his annoyance, but his eyes were pleading with me to let it go and so I did.

Nodding once, I turned around to the teacher and started taking notes.

In Calculus Alice told me everything about _our_ shopping trip that would happen on the weekend. Again. Only with more details this time.

We were going Saturday morning, basically shopping through the morning. Then we would have lunch at some restaurant in Port Angeles, followed by more shopping and finally heading home. It was, as she called it herself, a _girls day_.

_Great_, I said sarcastically to myself.

When I was heading to P.E and wishing the day would be over already, Mike appeared in front of me, looking nervous. He walked with me to the gym. I sighed_. This isn't good_, I thought.

I heard him take a few deep breaths before finally speaking. "So, Bella. Do you… um… want to go to the dance with me?"

My eyes widened as I looked around for someone, _something_ to take me out of this. There was no one around.

"You're going, right?" he asked as I didn't answer fast enough.

Without thinking about it, I said "Yes," only to then want to kick myself for it. It would have been easier to avoid Mike if I had said no, but in all honesty I wanted to go… and Alice had mentioned something about it. She was not going to let me get away.

"Do you have a date yet?" he asked hopefully.

"Um…" I hesitated, trying to find the best way to reject him. Misunderstanding my hesitation, Mike's smile widened.

_Think, Bella, think!_ I told myself. I finally concluded that if I said no, he would insist and make me uncomfortable, so I said "Yes" again.

His face fell. "Who?" he asked angrily.

Again I cursed myself inwardly. I could always ask Jake. He would save me later, or I could just make something up when the time came, but before I could get anything out someone spoke up behind me.

"Me," he said.

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**A/N: Thoughts???  
**

** Thank you for reading.**

**-  
**

**So guys here's my thing: I started college a few weeks ago and as you might imagine, it's tough, but still _amazing_. There's a lot to do and study and my free time it's been reduced to almost nothing. So, sadly, I will have to tell you that I will stop writing.... *shock face*... nahh just kidding. :D I won't, though be able to give you guys a weekly update. I will try to write in every single bit of free time I have, but I can't promise anything as I have no computer here and won't for, at least, two more months. I am now using my brother's laptop, but it is usually unavailable. In the worst of the scenarios I'll update once every three, or so, weeks until I get my computer, once I have it I will update on the weekends, most likely.  
**

**Having that said, I will now ask you to stay with me through this. I will understand though if you decide the waiting is too long and I appreciate you being here so far. So if, on the other hand, you decide to stick around with me, well... I will never be able to tell you how thankful I am. :)  
**

**So, thank you everyone... and I'll be seeing you, hopefully, soon.**

**Please review.**

**P.S: If you would like to know how crazy a day that college can be check my LiveJournal... And if you want to reach me the easiest was is through Twitter, or reviewing/PM-ing me. I will be also posting teasers in my WordPress page and on Fictionators on their 'Teaser Monday's post, so stay tuned! :D**

**Until the next time. :)  
**


	13. Chapter 13: Please don't

**Disclaimer: SM owns the Twilight world and its characters, I'm just borrowing them. No copyright infringement intended.

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**

**A/N: I'm so, so, _so_ sorry guys! I'm sorry it took over a month! Please forgive me!**

**Thank you all for reviewing and stuff! You are all amazing. And thank you to my very new permanent Beta IChimpz! You are amazing, bb! thanks!**

**So... I'll just leave it there... enjoy!**

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**Chapter ****13: Please Don't**

**Bella's POV**

_Before I could get anything out someone spoke up behind me. _

_"Me," he said._

My eyes widened in alarm, once again, as I recognized the owner of the voice. Turning around to face it, I felt my eyes go wider as I took in Tyler's smug smile.

When Mike scowled at him, I felt like I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me whole. "You?" he asked, clearly annoyed and disbelieving.

"Yes," Tyler stated, looking at me as if asking for me to confirm. But I couldn't. I didn't know if _this_ was a way of saving me from Mike or _his_ way of asking me to the dance.

"_Please, don't_," I whispered, more to myself than to them, but they heard me nonetheless.

"Stop lying, Tyler. It's obvious she's not going with you," said Mike confidently, the anger and annoyance dripping from his voice.

I have never seen Mike so angry before, his nose trails were flattered as he breathed rapidly and his eyes glaring at Tyler. His jaw was pressed tightly; his hands were fisted next to his sides and his face becoming red with anger.

My mind was flashing to different scenarios were they started to fight. My heartbeat sped up as I started feeling suddenly dizzy. _Please god! Tell me they are not going to fight over me!_ I begged in my head.

"Don't be so jealous, Mike. Get over it," Tyler said, attempting to move closer to me, but I flinched away unconsciously.

"See?!" Mike shouted, seeing me flinching away. "You didn't!"

"No, he didn't," said another all too familiar calm voice. "_I_ did." This was the voice I wouldn't confuse in a million hundred years. It was Edward's.

In that moment I felt my head was spinning, I wanted to cry as I started chanting _'No, no, no, please no'_ in my head. I wanted to ground to open and swallow me whole, again. Breathing had become harder as I turned around to face him. My eyes were filling with tears as I watched the situation getting out of control.

As I stared into his deep, calm, green eyes, I lost myself. I was traveling deep inside them, my surroundings forgotten. His face was so calm and confidant, as if all this mess wasn't happening at all, and for a moment I let myself believe so.

"_Cullen?_" I heard both Mike and Tyler ask at the same time. Their faces, though still a bit angry, were confused and shocked.

Suddenly Edward grabbed my hand, sending a wave of electricity up my arm to my entire body. I felt my face get hotter and redder as my heartbeat increased considerably.

"Yes, _I_ did. Now _fuck. Off_." He said, walking away and dragging me along with him.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Hey, Dad. I'm home!" I called as I stepped into the living room.

Charlie was sitting on the couch, legs stretched in front of him, remote in hand and watching a baseball game on the flat screen.

"Hey, Bells," he answered, looking up at me. "How was school today?"

"Fine," I answered, walking upstairs as the memories of what had happened started playing in my head.

_After Edward had dragged me away from Mike and Tyler, he walked until we were next to the gym, then he stopped and looked at me._

_"Thank you," I said as our eyes met. "You saved me." I was truly grateful._

_"It's okay," he replied, instantly letting go of my hand and looking down._

_He had looked so confidant, so calm just a few minutes ago and now he was looking down, as if he was embarrassed of something._

_I frowned; confused for a few moments, but then I realized that I needed to set him free from this _thing_ I had gotten him into. He had saved me, it was done, but he didn't need to actually _go_ with me to the dance._

_"You don't have to go, you know," I whispered, looking down as well._

_"What?" he asked, looking up again, confused._

_"I said that you don't have to go," I repeated. "Thank you, I really appreciate what you did for me, but you don't have to go."_

_Hearing my words again seemed to make him even more confused than before. For a moment, as I stared into his piercing green eyes, I thought I saw a hint of hurt there, but just as it appeared, it was gone._

_"You already have someone to go with," he said as a matter-of-fact._

_"No, I don't," I corrected him. "I told Mike I did have someone to go with because I honestly didn't want to go with him, but then everything got worse when Tyler showed up, I really didn't know what to do… but you… you saved me," I explained, smiling slightly. Despite the depth and penetrating of his eyes I didn't look away… and neither did he._

_"You don't want me to go with you?"_

_Things were getting too confusing for me. "Why-" I started, but stopped before I could say anything as realization dawned on me. "That's not what I said."_

_He frowned and looked away, breaking our stare._

_We stayed in silence for a few moments as he stared into space, with a frown on his forehead. Though it had been only minutes it seemed like hours to me, so I spoke up again._

_"I didn't mean I didn't want to go with you, Edward. I just said that you don't have to go, I won't make you go with me just because Mike and Tyler think so," I said. _And the whole school by now_, I added inwardly._

_While I spoke his eyes had focused on mines again, but his face was emotionless. He was staring blankly at me, saying nothing._

_I waited and waited, but he never spoke up. I was becoming nervous and anxious, for I started fidgeting with my sweater's sleeve and looked away from his face, but I could still feel his eyes on me, making me more uneasy._

_It got to the point that I just couldn't take it anymore, it was stating to piss me off. "Say something!" I snapped._

_He blinked a few times and shook his head, as if getting rid of some thought, but just didn't say anything._

_"Seriously, Edward," I said, glaring at him. "What's wrong with you?" I asked angrily._

_"Why?" he asked._

_"Never mind… I'll find someone else to go with," I said, sighing heavily and starting to walk away. I had had about enough of his games._

_"Wait," he called, grabbing my arm to stop me and spinning me around so I was facing him again._

_"Let go, Edward. We need to go to class or we'll be late," I complained, yanking my arm from his grasp._

_"What if I want to?" he asked in a small voice. It was barely loud, but enough for me to hear him._

_"Do you?" I asked back, surprised._

_Honestly I never asked him if he wanted to go, but that was just because I thought he wouldn't want to, I thought he didn't like that kind of things. He was always or alone or with his siblings, and that made me think that he wouldn't like to be in a place full of people from school._

_Besides I would never image that he wanted to go with _me_, of all people. This school was full of good-looking girls that would give anything to go with Edward. I was just _plain_ and very clumsy; he could do better, even if that hurt me._

_"Yes," he answered in a small voice, his eyes staring directly into mine._

_As his words registered in my head I couldn't help but smile up at him. "Okay, then," I replied once I could find my voice again._

_"We should go to class now," he said, as he motioned for me to go in first. I just nodded and started walking towards the gym doors._

"Bella!"

"Bella!" someone shouted next to me. "Bella!" _Charlie_ shouted again, shaking me by the shoulder.

"Jesus, Dad! What?" I asked, putting my hand on my chest, where my heart as supposed to be. It was beating furiously in my chest.

"Bella, I've been calling for you for _fifteen_ minutes now. You've been standing there grabbing the doorknob for too long, unmoving. Are you okay?" he asked, his voice and his eyes showing his concern.

"Oh," I said. "Sorry, Dad, I was just thinking."

"_Okay_," he replied, though he didn't seem too convinced by my explanation.

"I'll just leave my bag and then I'll start dinner, okay?"

"If you're tired I can just order pizza, Bella, you don't need to worry about it," he said as he went downstairs.

"No, Dad, I'm fine. I'll start in a minute," I said, before finally going into my room.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

_"Oh, Bella, I'm so proud of you," my Mom said, as tears started forming in her eyes._

_"Thanks, Mom," I said, hugging her._

_"You did great, kid. Congrats," Phil said, messing my hair playfully as I hugged my Mom._

_"Mom, do you think I will be a good writer?" I asked her, stepping back a little so I could see her face._

_"Of course, honey. Isn't that what your teacher said? That your write beautifully?" she said, caressing my hair._

_"Yeah," I nodded. "But James said I will never have a boyfriend if I'm a writer… he said writers are nerds. Am I a nerd, Mom?" I asked her, tears forming in my eyes now._

_She sighed and shook her head. "No, sweetheart, that's not true. You are still 10 years old, but when you get older you will find someone, okay? And he will care for you and do everything for you, okay? Don't think about it now."_

_I nodded as she wiped my tears away._

_"You're going to rock with the boys, kid," Phil said, smiling down at me._

_I blushed and they both laughed._

When I woke up the next morning I had tears in my eyes, but they were happy tears. It had been a while since I had had a happy dream about my mother, a dream that didn't involve the accident or her screaming voice.

Once I got up, I took a shower, got dressed -with the most comfortable clothes I could find- for a long shopping day with Alice, and went downstairs to have breakfast. Charlie was as usually already sitting there, with a cup of coffee on the table and the newspaper in hand.

"Morning, Dad," I said as I stepped into the kitchen.

"Morning, Bells," he said, peeking up from the paper before looking down at it again.

I had my breakfast in silence as Charlie read, but when I was getting up to leave he called after me.

"So, Bells… the dance is next weekend, huh? Are you going?"

I shook my head and sighed heavily before turning to face him again. "Actually am I," I said curtly, giving him the hit that I didn't really want to talk about it, not that Charlie would get it.

"Who are you going with?" he asked, trying to sound disinterested, but it didn't quite work.

"I'm going with Alice and her siblings," I replied. Telling him about Edward was probably not a very good idea, besides there was nothing to tell, he was just a friend. "We are going shopping in a few."

Seemingly satisfied with my answer he nodded and continued reading.

I was finishing getting ready when there was a knock on the door, once I opened it I was greeted by a very loud _"Bella!"_ from Alice, of course.

"Bella, I'm so excited!" she squealed, as she practically bounced to my side and hugged me tightly. Seeing her small form you would think she didn't have much strength, but she had _way _too much.

"Good morning, Alice," I greeted her, giggling once she let me go.

"We are having so, _so_ much fun today, Bella!" she started, grabbing my hand and walking toward her car, where Rosalie sat in the passenger's side. "We are going to buy everything!" she squealed.

"Alice, don't-" I started, but she interrupted my with a high pitched squeal and another hug.

"Oh my god, Bella, I can't believe you are going to the dace with Edward!" she said, still hugging me.

"Did he tell you?" I asked her, blushing.

"Not exactly… the whole school knows, Bella," she said, finally letting me go.

With that I blushed a darker shade of red. _The whole school knows, _I sighed.

"You don't mind, do you?" I asked Alice, she frowned so I continued. "It's your brother…" I said, trailing off.

"Oh, don't be silly, Bella. Of course I don't. He's my brother, you're my friend, I'm happy to see you together," she said, smiling widely at me.

I nodded and smiled at her as well. She grabbed my hand and started walking towards her car again, where a, now, very impatient-looking Rosalie sat.

"Hi, Rosalie," I greeted her as I get into the car.

"Hi, Bella," she replied, giving me a somewhat small smile.

The ride to Port Angeles was anything _but_ quiet. Alice wouldn't stop talking… and squealing. She was clearly very happy, but after a while of squealing, Rosalie couldn't take it anymore and had to yell at her to make her stop, which I was thankful for because my head was starting to hurt.

But Alice, being Alice, didn't let Rosalie's mood lessen her excitement.

Once we arrived at Port Angeles, she sort of calmed herself down, a bit. We were _"dress shopping"_ for the dance, as Alice had said.

It wasn't until every single shop that we could possibly find was checked that Alice made up her mind, making us go back to the ones she though had the best dresses.

I ended up with a knee-length, strapless, midnight blue dress. It actually fit me. Rosalie's dress was… sexy to say the least. It was a vivid red, backless and with a very pronounced cleavage, but despite it, it looked elegant, it was definitely perfect for her. Alice's dress was pink, that kind of pink that hurts your eyes when you look at it, but she was immensely happy with it, it was knee-length, like mine and Rosalie's, and it had a bow at the back.

Once we had our dresses it was lunch time. Thankfully, Alice talked less during lunch; she was probably just as tired as I was, and surprisingly Rosalie seemed in a better mood. We talked through the lunch time effortlessly.

After lunch we bought the jewelry and the shoes that we would be wearing at we dance so we could finally go home.

"Thank you, Alice, I had fun today," I said, giving her a hug.

"I'm glad, I did too," she said, hugging me back. "Maybe we could go next weekend again!" she said excitedly.

Rosalie shook her head and I sighed.

"We will see, Alice, we will see. I'm not sure I can walk after today," I said playfully.

She laughed and said, "I'll see you on Monday, Bella."

I nodded and waved then goodbye.

"Bye, Bella," Rosalie waved, smiling slightly.

Once inside, I ran upstairs and fell in my bed, sleep took my body almost instantly, it was one of those rare, dreamless nights.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading.**

**Did you like it?... I foresee some fluffiness, what about you? :)**

**Well, bbs. I've got a few things to tell you:**

**-As most of you might already know I've been nominated into five categories for the 'Total Eclipse Of The Heart Awards':**

_The 'Just The Beginning' Award – Best Story In-Progress_

_The Darkward Award – Best Dark Edward_

_The Dead End Award – Best Tragedy_

_The Parallel Universe Award – Best Alternate Universe_

_The Tense Atmosphere Award – Best Drama'_

**Voting is still open so you may vote for your favorites. You can find the link on my profile.**

**-I've got good news now. My laptop is on its way, I should have it by the end of this month so the updates will come faster... though not weekly yet, because this next few weeks I will be till the neck with things to study. Though I must tell you that _the_ chapters are written already *wink***

**-I also have some new one-shots. You might want to check them out. :D There's one that I hightly recommend,_ 'I can't live without your love'_, I wrote it with my super bestie Lehava!**

**-Just so you don't get too impatient when a chapter doesn't come quikly enough I will be posting teasers on my WordPress blog (link on my profile)... I'll let you know through twitter when they might arrive. You are free to PM me if you need anything or have any questions too.**

**I think that's all for now.**

**Leave me a _review_ and let me know what you think.**

**Love,**

**-E.**


	14. Chapter 14: Dance With Me

**Disclaimer: S.M. ****owns the Twilight world and its characters, I'm just borrowing them. No copyright infringement intended. The plot though, does belong to me, so please don't steal it.****

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**Author's Note: Hello dear readers! :) It's been 25 days exactly! ..Yes, I was counting! :p**

**Chapter 14 is up and I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Thank you ****IChimpz for, once again, beta'ing this chapter for me! A big thank you to everyone that reviewed, added me to alerts and favorites, as well as the story! you are all awesome and I love you! :)  
**

**Now... Enjoy!

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**Chapter 14: Dance ****with Me**

**Bella's POV  
**

The day of the dance had finally arrived and to say I was nervous wouldn't even begin to cover it. I was a complete mess, beyond nervous, but excited at the same time.

The past week at school had been –dare I say- normal… well, almost.

On Monday, the first person I saw was a very happy Alice, bouncing towards me. She greeted me with a warm hug and her usual loud, "Hi, Bella!" even though I was standing right next to her.

Probably the worst part of the week was when I had tell Jessica that Edward hadn't agreed to go out with her, but that on the other hand had invited me to go to the dance with him.

As I expected the whole school already knew I was going with Edward, those kind of things happened when you lived in a small town.

Another thing I had expected was everyone's stare, but I didn't expect them to be angry glares from girls I didn't even know. Sensing all those eyes on me, the blush stayed on my face almost throughout the whole week.

At lunch time, I was being dragged by Alice to their table, despite the fact that I told her that I wasn't hungry and that I was heading directly to Biology. I wouldn't be able to eat peacefully with all those stares. Obviously, though, she didn't listen to me.

"_I don't care, you need to eat, Bella, and you are going to do it with us__,"_ she had said.

Even if I wanted to object, I knew I wouldn't win, so I just gave up and went along with her.

"_Okay, Alice, I'll go with you," I said, making her squeal._

"_Let's' go, then," she said, tagging on my arm like a small child._

"_I said, I'll go, Alice, but I have to talk to Jessica first."_

"_Okay, I'll meet you there then," she said, bouncing happily into the cafeteria._

Taking a few deep breaths I waited for Jessica to come, I was afraid she would think I never really asked him for her.

After a while I started thinking she just wasn't going to show up for lunch, but when I was starting to walk away, I heard her voice from the end of the hallway, along with Angela's.

"_Hey, guys," I greeted them, smiling._

"_Hey, Bella," they both said, giving me small smiles back._

"_Jess," I started slowly, not really sure how to tell her, nor how she would react, despite she had told me it would be okay if he said no. "Well, I… um… I asked what you asked me to ask for you," I all but blurted out the words not really coherently._

"_Bella, what are you talking about?" she asked confused._

"_About… um… Edward?" I said, but it came out as a question._

"_Oh," she said as realization hit her. "Don't worry, Bella, he said no, didn't he?" she asked, not a trace of anger, or anything for that matter, on her face; she was completely composed._

"_Yes, I mean, yes, he said no."_

"_Don't worry about it, Bella. It's okay," she said, waving me off._

"_Is it?" I asked. Honestly I was surprised. "So you don't care that I'm… that I'm going to the… um… dace with him?"_

"_No, Bella. Honestly, don't worry about it."_

_As I stared at her dumbfounded I could swear I saw something cross her eyes, something close to hurt, maybe anger, but as it appeared it was gone._

"_Are you having lunch with us, Bella?" Angela asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence around us._

"_Um… no, Alice asked me to sit with her, of that's okay with you?" I answered, still a bit in awe._

"_Oh. It's okay, I'll see you, Bella," Angela said, grabbing Jessica's arm and walking away with her, but I still could hear her very sarcastic-looking _sure_._

_Deciding to ignore her last remark, I walked into the cafeteria, grabbed my food tray and went towards the Cullen's table, feeling more than just a little awkward with everyone staring after me._

"_Look who we have here, isn't it Bella?" Emmett said with a mocking tone._

"_Emmett," I greeted him shortly, which only served to make his grin wider._

"_Bella," he said, trying to mimic my voice, making everyone at the table snicker._

_I blushed._

_Thankfully__ though, Rosalie saved me from any further embarrassment smacking Emmett in the head and with her hand indicating for me to sit on the only free chair left in the table, next to Edward._

"_Hi," I greeted him timidly._

"_Hi," he said, giving me a somewhat crooked smile._

"_Oh, why so shy, Eddie? Give your girl a kiss or something," Emmett said mockingly again._

_Edward chocked on his food and I bushed more, my face a vivid red now._

"_She's not my girl, Emmett. We are just friends," Edward said once he could speak again._

"_Oh, yeah, right. It's not like you don't w-" he was cut off by Rosalie's smack in the head again._

"_Oww, Rosie, that hurts!" he whined._

"_I'm glad," she said sternly. "Now, stop being an ass and leave Edward and Bella alone." Emmett sighed defeated and refocused on his food, his hurt look made me giggle a little._

"_Seriously, Emmett, stop it or Bella will never have lunch with us again," Alice said, her voice dead serious, when he started joking again._

"_Don't worry, Alice," I said, because after all it was funny seeing Emmett all puppy-like and pouting at Rosalie to forgive him._

_Edward was looking at me with apologetic eyes and I tried to tell him through mine__ that it was okay, that I didn't mind._

_While this happened, Jasper started laughing non-stop. "She dominates you, man, that's sad," he said to Emmett through his laughter, making us all laugh as well._

By the time Friday arrived I was getting more and more nervous as the snickering comments about us continues and as, despite warnings from everyone, Emmett couldn't stop mocking me.

-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-:-

"Alice, come on!" I complained as she worked on my hair.

I had protested non-stop, telling her it was not necessary for her to do my hair and make-up, that I could do it by myself, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.

So here we stood, my room filled with make-up products and things that looked like they belonged to a professional hair-dresser. Rosalie was getting changed while Alice finished with my hair and make-up, so then she could get dressed herself.

I didn't understand why they could do it by themselves but I couldn't do it alone, it was not like I didn't know how to. I knew I didn't wear make-up that usually… well I never did, but I knew how to do it, my Mom had taught me how. Also, I had thought convenient for me to go to their house, not the opposite. That way they wouldn't need to carry things from their house to mine, but Alice had said it was better that way, _"Then the boys can come and pick us up, where is the fun in that if we live in the same house?"_ were her exact words. I stopped complaining then, as I figured it was important to her and to Rosalie.

When I looked at myself at the mirror, though, I changed my mind about not needing their help, there was no way that I could make what she did. My hair was falling over my shoulders in waves, it looked longer than usually and it was very shiny. My make-up was matching my midnight blue dress; though it was a bit dark it only made my pale skin brighter, and with the slight pink blush of my cheeks it was like the final touch.

"Wow, Alice… thank you," I said, giving her a hug.

She smiled brightly at me saying, "It's nothing, you _are_ very beautiful, Bella, all I did was apply some make-up."

I rolled my eyes at her, leave it to Alice to make me feel better.

"You look beautiful, Bella," said Rosalie as she walked into my room again.

I looked up at her and literally snorted. "Stop that, did you look at yourself? _You_ look amazing," I said, motioning for her to look at the mirror.

"Yeah, I do," she said as a mater-of-fact, making us all laugh together.

We were finishing getting ready when we heard a horn from outside. Alice squealed loudly, saying, "They are here!" as I started walking downstairs.

"No, Bella, where are you doing?" she asked me, grabbing my arm and dragging me inside the room again.

"Alice, I need to get the door," I said, tagging my arm away from her.

"You can't do that, Bella," Rosalie interjected. "We will get the door and get going, I'll make sure Edward stays and waits for you," she said as they started towards the door.

"What?" I asked. "No, why can't I go down now? This is ridiculous."

"Bella," Alice started, her tone serious. "That's how it works, we will let you know when we are going, and then you will do your great entrance," she said clapping her hands together and smiling widely with Rosalie.

I frowned.

"That's silly," I complained. "But whatever, just don't take too long, I'm tired of being in this room all day."

"Yes, yes, okay," they both said as the left me there waiting.

I could hear murmuring voices from downstairs and I felt the urge to just run out the door. It _was_ after all very silly, it was not prom; it was just some dance party. I had to hold myself from not leaving the room by sitting on my bad and holding onto it for dear life. I wasn't until Alice shouted, _"We will see you at the dance, Bella!" _that I breathed a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Grabbing the doorknob and taking a few deep breaths I walked outside. I could feel my face getting hotter and my heartbeat speeding up as I took my first step towards the stairs. There at the bottom of them stood Edward, looking down, seemingly analyzing his shoes.

As I started down, I was praying he wouldn't look up, because I was afraid I might trip with my own feet and go flying stairs down, but as I took a step forward his head shot up. Immediately his beautiful green eyes connected with mine and I couldn't look away, I was lost in the depth of them, once again.

Step after step I was getting closer to him, his eyes never leaving mine until I reached the few last stair ladders and he reached his hand out to help me. Without hesitation I took it and smiled widely at him, which he returned.

"You look beautiful," he said as his eyes traveled over me for a brief second, only to focus on my own eyes again.

I blushed at his comment, but smiled. "You do too," I said sincerely. He was wearing a very elegant black tuxedo, he looked gorgeous.

He smiled at me as I looked at the floor blushing again, my heart was beating so fast it was about to leave my chest. Then a memory of my mother passed by and I grimaced.

With one finger under my chin he coaxed me to look up again, his eyes concerned now, his smile gone. "What's wrong, Bella?" he asked softly, staring intently at me.

I tried smiling, but failed miserably. Shaking my head, I said, "Nothing, I'm fine."

"Bella?" he asked, cupping my face in both his hands to keep me from looking away. "You're sad, what's wrong? Are you feeling okay?" His green eyes were boring into mine which an intensity that left me speechless and frozen in place for a few moments.

"I… I was just thinking about my Mom, that all."

"Oh," he said. "I'm sorry." Letting go of my face, he looked away from me.

"It's okay. Let's… let's just go, okay?" I asked, grabbing his hand in mine in a bold move.

He nodded and started towards the door, still holding my hand. Silently, we walked to his car after I locked the front door. He opened the passenger's door for me and rounded the car to the driver's seat.

On the drive to school –as the dance was being held there, we stayed silent, listening to the soft tune of the music playing on the radio. I was still holding his hand, which I had grabbed the second he entered the car, he looked at me with concerned eyes, but said nothing.

I hadn't though it would be so difficult for me to do this. It was on moments like this that I missed my Mom the most, moments when a mother would be there for her child. Before I even realized we were already on the parking lot and the engine was off. I was squeezing Edward's hand tightly, trying very hard not to let the tears that had formed in my eyes spill over and ruin my make-up.

"Bella," he said softly, giving my hand a squeeze. I immediately let got and moved as if to get out of the car. "No," he said, grabbing my arm.

I turned to look at him, then. His eyes showed such concerned that made me want to cry even more, I didn't deserve that concern. "Let's go, Edward," I said.

"No, we are going home, you are clearly not okay," he said, shaking his head.

"Don't be silly, Edward. I'm okay and I'm not going to waste everything Alice spent her afternoon doing…" I trilled off, looking at my lap.

"Bella, Alice will understand. This is about you, not her, you are about to cry, I can see it. Please, don't hide from me," he pleaded, looking right into my eyes and holding my hands tightly in one of his.

"I," Before I could get anything out I felt a hot tear run down my cheek.

Edward's eyes widened momentarily, but he composed himself almost instantly. Reaching out to me, he softly wiped the tear way, but his hand stayed on my face. His thumb was caressing softly my cheek as I leaned into it, closing my eyes.

"Bella," he whispered after a few moments had passed.

I opened my eyes, to find him once again looking right at me, there was something in his eyes, something I couldn't quite decipher. "I'm sorry," I finally whispered back.

"What are you sorry for?"

"I'm ruining this for you… I'm sorry," I said.

"Bella, you are not ruining anything, I'm here because of you, otherwise I wouldn't put a foot here," he said smiling crookedly at me. "If you want to go, it's okay, really."

"No, I don't want to go… we are here already so…"

"But are you feeling okay?" The concern was back in his eyes.

"I'm okay, thank you," I whispered, leaning in and kissing his cheek.

His skin was so soft, so velvet-like that I stayed there mesmerized by the feeling of my lips against his cheek, not really realizing what I had just done. After a few seconds I composed myself only to find Edward with his mouth slightly open, an unreadable expression of his face again.

"Uh, shall we go?" he asked, finally, after clearing his throat a few times and shaking his head.

"Yes," I said, smiling and moved to get out of the car.

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**Author's Note: Thank you for reading. :)**

**I hope you all liked it, whether if it's that way or not let me know. I like knowing what you think. :)**

**Now... I have submitted to _'Fics for Nashville' _and the fic will be posted here around the 15th-20th of June. Check my profile and see all the links if you'd like to make a donation or submit your own fic and the summary for what I will be submitting. There's still time and it's a good cause where we all, no matter where we are, can help! The ladies over at FicsForNashville have raised an incredible amount of money already, be one more to help the flood relief.**

**I also have one more one-shot you may want to check and leave me some love? :)**

**I guess I'm not forgetting anything... So... I'm going to bed now, Good night to y'all!**

** Please, review.**


	15. Chapter 15: Dance With Me Part two

**Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer own the Twilight world and its characters, I'm just borrowing them. Not copyright infringement intended. The plot, though, belongs to **_**ele05gs**_**, please don't steal it.

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**Author's Note: *crickets* Anyone still out there?**

***waves*  
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**I'm so, so very sorry for not updating sooner. It's been three days I've wanted to update, but RL got in the middle. :(**

**And I've been a bit distracted lately too. So no more talking now, I hope you like this chapter and that's worth the wait. I'm giving you a bit of Edward's point of view, just to change a bit. :) It's not much though, I hope I don't disappoint.**

**The chapter was not beta'd yet, but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer. So when my amazing Beta **_**IChimpz**_** finishes it, I'll replace it. :)**

**This chapter didn't come out the way I wanted it to, maybe because I wrote it when I was slightly *cough* upset, but either way, I hope you like it! :)**

**Oh! There's the language **_**warning**_** here… Edward has a small problem controlling his words. :p

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**Chapter 15: Dance With Me (Part two)**

**Edward's POV**

I had frozen like a freaking idiot when she kissed me. What was I supposed to do anyway? She caught me off guard. The feeling of her lips on my cheek was strange, but in a good way, as if it left a tingling sensation there. It wasn't as if no one had ever kissed me, or something like that, but Bella… with Bella it was just different.

I was afraid of hurting her when she found out everything about me. I couldn't let her get there, but when she kissed me all my mind was telling me to do was to kiss her back, to _really_ kiss her. Even if I wanted to though, I wouldn't have been able because before I could unfroze my body and close my fucking mouth she was leaving the car, all I could do was follow her.

"Wow," she whispered as we were approaching the gym, where the dance was being held. "They really did a good job with this," she said. We had stopped as Bella stared at it for a moment and then she looked up at me.

I smiled at her. She was right and it was in part thanks to Alice and Rosalie. "Alice and Rose had a bit to do about it," I told her, shaking my head. "Well, maybe a _lot_ to do with it. You know Alice, she would never let her first dance party in Forks look bad," I said as I shrugged.

"It sounds like her," Bella said as she giggled lightly.

"Come one, let's go. She must be very impatient to see you," I said as I grabbed her hand and started walking towards it again.

"Bella!" Alice screamed as soon as she saw us nearing the door. Her loud squeal was mostly muffled by the loud music, but still a few people turned to see who was coming.

I sighed. Leave it to Alice to draw the attention to us, as if we hadn't had enough in the past week.

"Bella, Edward! You look amazing!" she shouted, though she was right in front of us.

"Alice, you saw us already!" I shouted back, shaking my head.

She smiled brightly up at me, but said nothing. It was a knowing smile, as if she knew something and I didn't and I hated it.

I frowned.

"Bella, come with us! Rose and I need to use the restroom," she said, grabbing Bella's hand and pulling her away from me before she could protest. Rosalie following close behind.

"You know Alice, man," Jasper said, smiling at me. "She always gets what she wants."

I laughed humorlessly at him. "She annoys me."

Emmett's booming laugh came from my side as well as his oh-not-so-gentle pat on my back. "You're jealous," he said as a matter of fact.

I frowned. "Are you kidding me, Emmett? Why in hell would I be jealous? For fuck's sake!" I sighed, exasperated. Only Emmett could annoy me more than Alice could.

"See? Right there, you're jealous! Just because she's not with you all the time! You're such a possessive bastard," he said, shaking his head. I could see the grin he was lamely trying to hide, so I figured he was just mocking me. I let it go.

"Alice and Rose did a really good job with this place, huh?" I said to them, effectively changing the subject.

"Of course they did," Jasper said, beaming like a love sick idiot.

I just nodded and decided against mocking him, as my comments would only end up against me in the end, I was sure of it.

The place was getting full rapidly and soon after it was crowed. We barely had space to walk around. Once the girls came back from the restrooms we found a table to sit at.

"What took you so long?" I asked Bella as we walked towards the table.

She shrugged nonchalantly saying, "Girls stuff." Even in the dim light I could have sworn I saw her blush and that only made me more confused.

We all sat at the table for a while, just enjoying the light conversation. When Alice started rambling about the work she and Rose had done on the gym and how amazing it ended up being, I stopped listening. I focused my attention in the dance floor where everyone was dancing, they were all laughing and having fun, it seemed as the world around them didn't exist at all.

I was brought back to reality by a light squeeze of my hand, only then did I realize that I had been lost in thought for quite a while.

Bella was looking at me quizzically, her hand holding mine. Looking around I saw that the table was empty apart from us both. "Where are the others?" I asked her.

"There," she said pointing towards the dance floor. My eyes followed hers and I found my siblings dancing together, quite close to each other.

I shuddered.

Bella laughed next to me. "Don't be like that," she said nudging me. "They are your family, besides they are just dancing." I couldn't help but laugh with her.

It was a bit upsetting seeing them like that, it had always been, but then again I should have been used to it… not that I was, but still.

"It's nice, isn't it?" she asked me after a few moments of comfortable silence. Seeing my confusion she elaborated. "The dance, I mean. I was half expecting it to be as a normal day of classes, only we are dressed differently and we don't actually have classes."

I started at her for a while until she started laughed again, "That didn't make any sense, did it?" she asked me through her laughter, I just smiled at her and shook my head, not because it didn't make sense but because she just couldn't stop laughing.

**Bella's POV**

"Will you dance with me?" he asked suddenly, making me jump slightly.

I giggled a little. "I, uh, I'm not such a good dancer," I told him honestly. I was afraid I would step on his foot and ruin his very-expensive-looking shoes.

"It doesn't matter," he said softly. "I don't either, but we are here after all, aren't we?"

I smiled brightly up at him. "Yes, we are." Taking his hand I let him led me to the dance floor.

He seemed hesitant at first, but as the slow, soft music started playing he took a step closer to me and put his arms loosely around my waist, as if giving me the chance to leave if I wanted to. I shook my head at his silliness and smiled reassuringly up at him again, my arms rounding his neck and bringing him closer to me.

Slowly we started swaying with the music and his grip on my waist tightened, bringing us even closer together.

"This is nice," I whispered after a few moments of silently dancing. He just nodded as we kept dancing together.

I rested my head against his chest; I could hear his heart beating softly, as if in cue to the music. I didn't say anything after that and neither did he. Maybe because he didn't have anything else to say or maybe he was just trying to enjoy the moment as much as I was.

When the song ended Edward didn't make a move to leave the dance floor and as another started we just kept moving, my face never leaving its spot on his chest. I could feel it rise as he breathed.

I felt him rest his chin on the top of my head and I sighed in contentment.

"Bella," Edward whispered after a moment, I lifted my head to look at him and was surprised to see his very close to mine. One of his hands left my side only to rest on my cheek, his expression was unreadable, there was something in his eyes, something I couldn't put my finger on just yet.

I frowned at him and he just smiled at me. "Bella," he whispered again as he started to lean closer to me, his eyes focused on my lips for a moment before he looked into my eyes again. Without even realizing it I was moving closer to him as well, our noses were touching, our lips a breath apart, we were actually going to kiss, but then I heard someone calling after us… after _me_.

"_Bella!"_

I instantly jumped back, away from Edward. It was an instinct movement, I wasn't exactly sure why I jumped back, and Edward seemed to share my confusion, only his eyes showed hurt there too.

My eyes widened as I realized he might have thought it was because of him, but then I heard someone calling my name again.

"Bella," I looked in the direction of the voice –or where I thought it was coming from, I found Jessica grinning at me and waving.

"Hey Bella," she said again as she neared us. "I didn't see you before, you look great!" she squealed.

"Um, thanks, Jess. You do too," I told her. While I was talking to Jessica I was actually looking up at Edward, he was not happy, he was glaring at her –or so I thought, and that only served to make me more confused than what I already was.

As I looked at Jessica again I noticed she wasn't alone, behind her was Angela shaking her head. She greeted my warmly as it was common of her, but it was clear that something was bothering her. Next to her was Mike, grinning widely at me.

"Hey, Bella," he said. I nodded.

"So how are you doing? Do you like it?" Jessica asked motioning around, as if completely oblivious to the awkward moment we were all in, or maybe just choosing to ignore it.

"It's nice," I told her, stepping closer to Edward again.

"Yeah-" Jessica started, but was interrupted by Mike, who stepped in front of her, successfully cutting her off.

"Hey, Bella let's dance," he said, reaching out for my hand.

I was stunned, my eyes widened. "I, um… I, uh," I stammered, my brain still not working properly. I was cut off guard by him, I would never had expected Mike to ask me so boldly, not after I told him off when he asked me the first time.

I could have sword I heard Edward growl next to me, but the loud music made it impossible for me to be sure. There was one thing I was sure of, though, and it was the death glare he was giving Mike.

"Yeah, you go with Mike, Bella. I'll keep Edward entertained," Jessica chimed in, happily. If my eyes could have gone wider, they would have, there was no way in hell I would have expected that from Jessica either.

There was something off about their behavior, something was simply wrong. They had never behaved like that before and the fact that they were agreeing on something made it even easier for me to believe that something was off. Angela's face behind them confirmed my suspicions, she seemed to be angry, confused and frustrated, she was always the calm girl since I first met her, but in that moment she was everything _but_ calm.

Mike made a move to take my hand and I flinched away from him, involuntarily might I add. And that was the cue for Edward to react.

"Don't fucking touch her," he snapped.

I sighed. I knew where this was going to end; it was time for _me_ to do something. "I, uh, I'm sorry Mike, but I came with Edward today…" I trailed off trying to pass the message in a subtle way.

"I know," he said grinning at me. "But Jess will keep him company while we dance."

"Okay, enough!" Edward shouted, making us all jump. "Bella is with me, _Mike_. She's not dancing with you, _ever _and I'm not going any-fucking-where with Jessica. Period." Once again Edward grabbed my hand and led me away from them. I trough one last glance back and it was enough to see a very agitated Angela shaking her head and shouting at them.

"What the hell was that?" I heard Jasper ask us as we approached them.

"I'd like to know the answer for that too," I told him shaking my head.

"Wow, Edward, calm down," Jasper said putting him hand on one of Edward's shoulders, trying to ease him.

He was breathing heavily through his nose, his eyes dark with anger. I squeezed his hand trying to convey to him that everything was okay now; that there was nothing to worry about, not that there ever was, but still.

"What the fuck in wrong with that Mike guy?" he asked, seething. It was clearly a rhetorical question; still I chose to answer him, trying to sooth his anger.

"Let it go, Edward. Mike's not usually like that, maybe he was drunk," I said shrugging it off, trying to make us all forget about it. "Come one let's take some fresh air." Grabbing his hand again I led him outside.

I found an empty bench where we could sit at and led us there. It was far enough that no one would bother us, but we could still hear the music in the background. We sat there in silence for quite a while, he didn't speak and neither did I. Once his breathing was back to normal I let go of his hand and sighed.

I was staring at the sky, a clear full of stars sky when I heard him sigh as well. "I'm sorry," he whispered. I looked back at him and frowned, he continued. "I'm sorry about this, I'm ruining your night," he said shaking his head again.

"There's nothing to apologize for, Edward," I told him honestly.

"Yes, there is," he argued. "I'm sorry, it's just… there's something about Jessica and Mike that makes me see red, I don't know why," he sighed exasperated.

"They were off today. They are nice people, they really are, but today they were acting… off," I said shrugging.

"If you say so," he answered, clearly not convinced, but agreeing just to please me. "I, this was supposed to be fun and I'm ruining it, and… I'm _sorry_," he said looking at me right in the eyes. He was being honest I could tell that much, but it didn't lessened my confusion.

"Edward, there's _nothing_ to be sorry about. Besides the night's not over yet," I said smiling in an attempt to see him smile as well.

For his credit he tried, though it looked more than a grimace than a smile. "Come one, Edward, don't be like that. You're worrying to much over something it's not worth it," I told him, nudging his side playfully. "You worry even more than I do, and _that's_ saying something," I said giggling.

My attempt to lighten the mood worked, because he smiled up at me, this time a genuine smile and shook his head. "Don't think that's possible," he said mockingly.

"You can't know that, you barely know me," I said feigning shock and biting my lip to stop myself from laughing.

"True," he said, his voice serious again.

My face fell. "Edward, I… that's not-"

He raised his hand, not letting my finish. He smiled again, though it seemed like a sad smile. "Don't worry." Was all he said.

I literally snorted at that, and he burst out laughing. Soon I joined him because of the absurdity of it all, he sure agreed with me.

When our laughter died silence took over us again, it didn't last long though, as Edward spoke soon after. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" he asked.

I nodded, but when I looked at him I saw he was looking at the sky, so I voiced my reply, "Yes, it is," I said softly. "Do you mind if we stay here a little longer?" I asked him then. I wasn't exactly in the mood to go back into that place full of people, besides it was clear night and the weather was quite warm.

"Not at all," he replied in a whisper. "But you'll have to dance with me again, considering we were _interrupted_," he said smiling crookedly.

"What? Here? But there's no music," I complained.

"It doesn't matter," he said. Leaving no room for arguing he stood up and offered me his hand, which I gladly took.

Again we started slowly swaying to no music at all. It didn't take long, though, for Edward to fill the silence with his soft humming. I felt my eyes close on their own accord as I rested my head against his chest again.

"This is really nice," Edward whispered his voice barely audible. I just nodded as I was still not sure he had actually spoken up yet.

I wasn't quite sure when, but at one point we stopped dancing and went back to sitting on the bench. As the night started wearing in the weather changed and cold air blew around us, making my shiver.

"You're cold," Edward said, he wasn't asking.

"I'm fine," I told him in reply, but wasn't having it. He took off his jacket and gave it to me, putting it over my shoulders. It was warm and it smelled like him.

As I thought about it I blushed.

"What?" Edward asked.

"Nothing," I said shaking my head, trying to get rid of the memory of the conversation with Alice and Rose in the restroom, but instead I only blushed further.

"What?" Edward asked again.

"Nothing," I said again, finally meeting his eyes and smiling.

He smiled back and shook his head, clearly deciding to let it go.

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**Author's Note: Thank you for reading.**

**I'm sorry to leave it there, but I hope you guys liked it.**

**I'd like to thank everyone for revewing, favorit-ing and alert-ing the story! It means the world, and if you reviewed you know that, because when I reply I'm sure I told you! :p  
**

**So, now to the **_**important**_** things: I apologize in advanced because I won't be able to update again until mid-August. Yes, I know it's a very, very long time, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm getting on my exams right now. Actually I should be studying right now, but I wanted to post the chapter first, before I disappear into the unknown studying world! :p**

**I'll make sure the next chapter is worth the wait, I promise. *wink* and for what it's worth I'll be giving you some small teasers through my ****blogger page****, so check it out. I won't be on Twitter or any of the other thousand accounts I have because they will only serve to distract me.**

**Now I'll ask for one last favor: Leave me a ****review****! **


	16. Chapter 16: Everlasting

**Disclaimer: ****Stephenie Meyer owns ****the Twilight Saga, therefor its characters, I'm just borrowing them. No copyright infringement intended.**

**The plot, however does belong to me, please don't steal it.

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**Author's Note: I am **_**back**_**! Thank you all for your undying patience. **

**And thank you for your good luck wishes. I did quite well on my exams, on the ones I got the results back, at least. But what's important is that I didn't fail any, and that I'm **_**back**_**!**

**So, to pay you for all your beautiful reviews and everything you guys do for me I'm leaving you today with a complete EPOV. I really hope you like it.**

**Oh! Before I forget… may I say that we are halfway through the story with this chapter? Yup! We are! :) I'm thinking something between 30 - 35 chapters… this might also give you the clue that the inevitable is about to come… ;) **

**Now remember, un-beta'd chapter is un-beta'd.**

**Enjoy.

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**Chapter 16: Everlasting**

**Edward's POV**

"_Edward!"_

I groaned. That was my personal alarm clock. _Alice._

"Edward, get up right now," she screamed from the door, knocking insistently.

I groaned again. "Leave me alone, Alice. Go away!" I shouted, putting a pillow over my head to muffle her voice from outside.

Why did she always have to do this kind of things? It was Sunday, for God's sake. There were no classes, I had no appointments that I remembered of; clearly there was no reason for me to get up this early.

Slowly taking the pillow out of my head, I chanced a glance around to see if she was somewhere inside my room. When I was sure she wasn't around I searched for my alarm clock.

_12:36_

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. It wasn't early, not at all, and I was late for lunch.

Groaning for the third time since I woke up I ran to the bathroom, took a quick shower and proceeded to go downstairs. My stomach was growling even before I finished descending the stairs.

"Well, well, well, isn't that sleeping beauty standing right there?" Emmett, the first to see me didn't lose a chance to make stupid jokes. "We thought we would need prince charming to kiss you wake up," he finished laughing loudly at his own joke. As per usual.

"Fuck off, Emmett," I told him at the lack of a better reply. I wasn't in the mood for his jokes. Besides I was starting to get a headache from all the sleep.

"Sweetheart, take a sit, I'll bring you lunch," said Esme sweetly. I smiled at her and sat next to Carlisle, then muttered a thank you when she put the plate of food in front of me.

"So kids, did you have fun yesterday?" Carlisle started. I was hoping he had already asked Alice and Emmett how things had gone, though I'm sure Alice would need no encouragement to tell everyone about how great it all was.

As soon as Carlisle finished his question he was bombarded by Alice telling him detail after detail of everything that had happened, and I mean _everything_. That's when I stopped listening. I let my mind wander as I slowly ate the lasagna Esme had just placed in front of me.

For some reason all that I could think of was Bella. She looked so beautiful on that blue dress, it fit her perfectly. The moment I saw her descending the stairs was a moment that would be attached to my memory for as long as I lived. Never have I seen someone as beautiful as her.

I wasn't very sure that going to the dance would be a good idea, I had actually thought it would be boring as hell, it turned out I was wrong. It was very nice, especially when we went outside, just the two of us.

I was still a little curious as why she blushed after I gave her my jacket, but I didn't want to press the matter and make her uncomfortable, so I didn't ask. We stayed a few moments more outside after that, before going back inside and dancing for a while longer.

I must admit I wasn't a fan of dancing, but I grew quite found of it after last night. It felt… _natural_ to have her close to me, her small frame tightly against mine. She was so warm and I wanted to kiss her so badly. But then ass Newton had to appear.

I wasn't really found of him, and everyone knew that, but last night he was odd, odder than normal. When he reached out for Bella and she flinched away from him I saw red, I didn't really know why that happened, but he infuriated me in a way that didn't happen before. I'm sure I would have punched him right in the face if Bella wasn't there right beside me.

Thankfully the rest of the night went by and we didn't see Newton or Jessica again.

When the dance was over I drove Bella home and walked her to the door. I wasn't really sure what to do, and honestly I was a bit nervous, what if I did something impulsive and hurt her? She smiled sweetly at me when we reached the front door, her eyes shining with happiness. I smiled back her, before leaning in and kissing her cheek, not wanting to step on my boundaries, or on Chief Swan's for that matter.

I didn't want to let her go, and we stood there for a few moments just looking at each other. I was holding her hand tightly in mine when I asked her if she wanted to go out with me the next day. It was an excuse to have her on Sunday too, and I had a beautiful place where I could take her, somewhere peaceful, where no one would bother us. Much to my relief she accepted, kissing my cheek again and going inside.

I was brought back from my reverie by a sudden pain on the side of my head. I looked up startled only to find Emmett laughing hard again and saying, "You should have seen your face."

Next to my plate laid a piece of bread covered by many layers of napkins. I looked up again, glaring at him, while he laughed away.

"Emmett," Esme said, her voice low yet stern. "No games for you today."

His laugh stopped immediately. "What? Why?" he asked, almost whining.

Esme shook her head. "You can't play with the food. I've already told you that," she stated simply.

He glared at me, as if it was my fault, but I just smiled smugly at him.

After I finished lunch I went to the piano. It had been a while since I last played and I missed it. There was also a tune lingering on my head for quite a while now. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath and started playing. It was effortless, it had always been. If there was something I was good at, it was music. I simply loved it, it calmed me; it was sometimes the only way of making my body relax.

My fingers moved softly over the keys, portraying the melody that my mind had created by itself. Not soon after I started I felt a hand on my shoulder, and without having to open my eyes or stop playing I knew it was Esme. She loved watching my play, and she always thought my music was beautiful; she encouraged me to play all the time.

I let my finger linger on the key as the last note faded away. I smiled, satisfied with the result. It wasn't finished, but it was a start.

"It was beautiful, honey. I'm glad you're composing again," she told me, sitting next to me on the bench. "Now, play my favorite, will you?" she asked me sweetly. I laughed softly at her, but played anyway. It was one of the only ways I could pay her for doing everything she had done for me. She was the mother I never really had and I would be forever grateful to her, even if I didn't show it that usually.

When the time I promised Bella I would pick her up started approaching I went up to my room, I grabbed my jacket and my iPod before heading downstairs again. I spotted Emmett sitting on the couch next to Rosalie watching a movie. Well, Rose was watching a movie, Emmett was just snoring on her shoulder.

"Where're you going Eddie?" my little pixie sister asked me as I was about to head for the door.

"Out," I replied simply.

"Can I come?" she asked smiling excitedly at me.

"Uh, let me think," I said playfully. "No."

She was already starting to pout at me when Jasper appeared hugging her and kissing her cheek. I would have thought it was cute if I didn't think it was disgusting first.

When the display in front of me turned into a full make out session I run out of the house. It might have been my only chance to get away from Alice. I didn't want her to start asking questions, not because I didn't want her to know I was seeing Bella, but because I knew that if I told her she would want to come along. And God help me, when that girl got something in her head there was no way of convincing her of letting it go.

On my way to Bella's house I put some soft calming music, low enough to pass as a background tune. The ride wasn't really that long, but I made sure I could get there as soon as possible, I was sort of missing her already and I wasn't so sure I liked that feeling.

Finally parking at her house's driveway, I got out and started walking toward her front door. I couldn't help but notice, though that her father's car was nowhere to be seen, and for that I was grateful. What was I supposed to tell him anyways? _I'm your daughter's boyfriend? Friend?_ Not even _I_ knew what we were really. Not yet at least.

Knocking slowly I waited for her to open the door, but she never came. Instead all I heard was a soft _"come in, it's open"_ from the other side of the door. Not really sure I had actually heard her I waited a little bit more, but as she didn't seem to be getting the door I tried to turn the doorknob, finding that it was in fact open.

"Bella?" I called after her as I slowly stepped into her living room.

"In the kitchen," she replied.

As I approached I could hear the noise of pans clicking, of something boiling and the unmistakable smell of cookies.

"Hi," she greeted me timidly when I stepped into the kitchen.

"Hi," I smiled. "What are you doing?" I asked curiously, walking closer to her.

"I'm baking cookies and making dinner for Charlie," she said, offering me a cookie which I gladly took.

"Wow, they are amazing," I said stealing another one from her, making her giggle at me.

"Just let me put this away and we can go," she said, turning the oven off and putting the pans away. "Where are we going? Should I change?" she asked shyly.

"You're beautiful," I all but blurted out, making her blush a bright red and look at her feet.

_Stupid brain filter,_ I though.

"Uh, it's fine as it if, but if you want to change it's okay," I told her, trying to ease her a little. She was wearing a pair of black jeans and blue sweater. She did look beautiful.

"Oh, okay then. Let's go?" she said, though it sounded more of like a question.

"Sure," I said as I started to leave.

"Wait, Edward?" she called after me. I turned to look at her and she continued. "Where are we going?" she asked nervously fidgeting with her hands.

Seeing her nervous made me start to question my decision of where to take her. Maybe I should take her somewhere public where she would be more comfortable? Maybe she didn't want to be alone with me?

"I –I wanted to show you this place I found a while back… it's in the woods, but if you want to go somewhere else, it's okay. Would you rather go to Port Angeles and watch a movie?" I asked. Somehow my voice sounded disappointed, though I didn't really mean for it to. I wanted to take her there because I thought it was a place she would like, that was all.

"No, no," she said hurriedly. Her voice sounding oddly relived. "I just wanted to make sure I was properly dressed, that's all…" she trailed off.

"I already told you, you were okay," I said. _Didn't see believe me?_

"I know, I –I was just making sure," she said blushing again.

She was confusing me, yet again. Still I was relieved that she didn't want to go to Port Angeles, though I wouldn't really mind driving with her for an hour and sitting next to her on the cinema. I just really wanted to show her the place I had found. I had never shown it to anyone, but I wanted _her_ to know it.

"Edward?" she asked softly. I shook my head, trying to get rid of my thoughts and focus on her. She slowly reached out, soothing the frown from my forehead with one of her fingers.

"I," she started, smiling softly and shaking her head slowly. "I just thought that if I really needed to change you would still say I was okay."

I smiled too; she was blushing again and wouldn't meet my eyes. Without really thinking about it I raised one hand and cupped her cheek, making her look at me. "You're right, I wouldn't," I said, her eyes widened at me as my smile turned into a full grin. "I wouldn't because you _are_ always beautiful."

I hadn't really intended to tell her that again, but I still meant it and didn't regret it. Our eyes locked and we stared at each other. She seemed to be looking for something in my eyes, and seemingly she found it because she smiled brightly at me again.

And then I did the thing I had wanted to do for a long time, I kissed her.

Capping her face in my hands I brushed my lips gently across hers, softly taking her bottom lip between my own before slowly pulling away.

I looked at her, gauging her reaction, searching for any signs that I might have gone too far, but as I looked at her and our eyes met again I knew I hadn't.

I leaned in slowly again, our noses touching and our eyes still firmly on each other's. I was seeking for her permission and when she leaned into me as well I knew it was her way of saying she was okay with it.

So I captured her lips with my own again. I kissed her slowly, softly as if she were made of the most fragile thing in the world, because to me she was. Or lips molded perfectly with each other's. She was so soft and sweet, I never wanted to stop kissing her.

Her hands slowly made their way to the back of my neck and into my hair as my own caressed her cheeks tenderly. I titled my head just slightly to the side to kiss her better. The emotions cursing through my body in that moment were indescribable, it wasn't something I had ever felt before, and I simply loved it.

It could have been minutes, hours, seconds, I didn't know. What I did know, though, was that I never wanted it to end, but eventually I broke us apart.

Slowly I started pulling away, planting one last lingering kiss on her pouty lips before pulling away completely.

I rested my forehead against hers, my eyes still closed as I tried to catch my breath and even out my heat beat again.

A smile formed on my lips without me even realizing it, and when I finally opened my eyes I found Bella looking at me, her eyes shining with curiosity and happiness perhaps, I wasn't sure.

The intensity of our stare was overwhelming, yet I couldn't find it in me to look away. I could stay forever looking at her and I would never get tired.

"Shall we go, now?" she whispered then. I just smiled and nodded, leading the way to my car.

It didn't take long for us to get there. Well, not really there, but to the path that would lead us to the meadow.

We talked about inconsequential things on the drive there. I told her about how Alice had told dad about everything detail after detail. She wasn't surprised, because like me she knew Alice very well. For some reason that made me quite happy.

"We will have to walk a little from here," I told her when we stepped out of the car. I took my bag out of the trunk and walked toward the front of the car where Bella stood.

She was looking straight forward, as if trying to see through the deep forest, a frown on her forehead.

"What's wrong?" I asked, stepping in front of her. "If you want we can go back, it's okay," I assured her.

"No, I was just thinking that I… I might trip a lot," she finally said, looking worried.

"Oh, if you're afraid you'll fall then don't be, I'll catch you. But if you want to go just say it, it's okay, really." I was trying really hard to read her face, searching for the slightest hesitation on her part so I could take her back. I didn't want to, but I would.

_What if she gets hurt?_ My mind was screaming at me. I knew the basics about first aids, but I wasn't a doctor, and I didn't want her to get hurt either, not in the slightest.

"Edward?" she whispered. I didn't reply, my mind was racing trying to figure out which was the best option, to take her home or just go for it.

"Edward," she called again, this time I looked down at her. "It's okay, let's go," she said firmly. She seemed sure of herself. I, on the other hand, was still a little hesitant.

"Come on, we are already here, so let's go," she said, tagging on my arm and pulling me toward the woods with her.

She started following an open path through the trees, walking slowly, step after stop. She seemed intent on not tripping, but if she did I was right beside her to catch her, I couldn't let her fall.

When the path started to disappear and the wood turned thick she slowed her walk, looking at me uncertainly. I smiled and took her hand, leading the way to the meadow I knew so well.

After five minutes walking and a few trips after on Bella's part was were arriving.

"We're here," I told her as we stepped out of the trees.

She looked around in awe, squeezing my hand in hers and smiling widely. "This is so beautiful," she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

As she kept taking her surroundings in I lead us to the center of the meadow and settled our things on the grass. I had brought a picnic blanket for us to lay on as well as some food in case we got hungry.

She watched my put everything into place shaking her head at me and smiling.

We settled down on the blanket, both looking up at the sky and how the wind moved the tree tops. She moved closer to me then, resting her head on my shoulder and closing her eyes.

I held her close to me, one arm around her waist and the other holding her hand. I closed my eyes not soon after too, wondering if anything in my life had ever been this perfect and knowing at the same time that it hadn't. It felt natural and easy being with Bella, just like breathing.

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**Author's Note: Sorry for the fluffiness overload, still I hope you enjoyed it and thank you for reading. **

**Only I know how long it took me to write that damned kiss, but let me squeal a little, okay? *squeee* ;) **

**From now on I will be posting teasers and a little pic-tease on my blog. There's also a new banner. Check my profile for links.**

**Oh! **_**I Can't Live Without Your Love **_**and **_**Devotion**_** have been nominated for The Single Shot Awards, for Best Romance and Best Drama. Please vote, you have until August the 30****th****. **http:/thesingleshotawards[dot]blogspot[dot] com/

**Also this story has been nominated for the All Human Twilight Awards, as the "fanfiction that had you hooked for drama." The voting goes from August 30th till September 13th.**

**You may vote here:** twilightallhumanawards(dot)webs(dot)com **(delete spaces)**

**And before I go let me rec something for y'all, check **_**Kindly Unspoken**_**, by Lehava. **www[dot]fanfiction[dot]net/s/6261279/1/** -You won't regret it, trust me.**

**Now, leave a ****review**** after the beep. **

*****_**beep**_*** ;)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: ****All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.****

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Author's Note: Hey everyone! Chapter 17 has arrived! I apologize for the embarrassing amount of time it took me to get this chapter up here. I really have no excuses, but I hope you don't hate me much, because guess what? Today (November 5****th****) is my BIRTHDAY! Yay! …or not! :p**

**Anyway. Thank you all for the amazing reviews you leave to me, they all mean the world. And a huge Thank you to the two betas that helped me out this time. These ladies are extraordinary!**** So, thank you Idealistic4ever and Savannah-Vee.**

**Enjoy!

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**Chapter 17**

**Bella's POV**

I was in heaven.

I could have died in that second, and I would have died happy. I had such a sense of calm, of peace, and just pure happiness coursing through my body that I never wanted it to end. I could not have imagined that I'd ever feel that way, that _someone _could make me feel that way

Edward was lying next to me, one of his arms around my shoulders, and the other holding my hand as I rested my head on his chest. I could feel it rise with each breath he took; I could hear his soft heartbeat through his shirt. It was like a lullaby, slowly pulling me towards unconsciousness.

It was a beautiful day, considering we were in the rainy and always cloudy town of Forks. The sun was shining high in the sky, the wind was no more than a breeze– if anything, and it was exceptionally warm for November.

Opening my eyes, I tried to take everything in. This place was beautiful, so much it seemed magical. Honestly, I didn't like the woods that much, but that was because I didn't know such places existed. The way the trees surrounded us and the wild flowers covered the grass, it was like something straight out of my dreams— the most beautiful dreams.

It surprised me, at first, that Edward had found the meadow to begin with. He didn't strike me as the hiking type, but then it made sense. It was exactly like him to find such a calm and peaceful place. It was true that we didn't know each other well; a matter of months, really. We hadn't gotten into the details of each other's lives– we didn't need to. Words were unnecessary between us.

Glancing briefly at Edward, I noticed he was sound asleep. His expression was peaceful– as peaceful as he was the very first time I saw him at the Hospital. I smiled to myself remembering that day. It had been a few months since that day, and not once had I thought I would be right beside him in that moment. Nor would I have imagined that he would kiss me.

_The kiss_. It was so sweet and gentle, his lips were so soft and he tasted so good! I was sure I sounded like a silly, giggling girl, but I didn't care.

Sighing softly, Edward opened his eyes and looked right at me.

I smiled at him.

"Did I– did I fall asleep?" He seemed worried and a little confused, but he kept on smiling anyway.

"Yeah, you did, but just for a little while," I assured him.

He nodded and smiled again.

I felt this sudden urge to kiss him again as he looked at me curiously. Without giving it much thought I just did it, I gave his lips a soft yet lingering peck and pulled away. My face immediately turned bright red, so I tried to avoid his eyes as I felt my embarrassment and self-consciousness grow exponentially."

I could hear Edward snickering next to me and whispering, "Oh, Bella..."

"What?" I asked, feeling a little hurt that he was laughing at me.

"Why are you so shy, my pretty girl?"

The way he said the words made me go full on crimson with a rapidly-beating heart. Looking at my lap, I fidgeted with my hands, praying for this awkward moment to end soon.

I could hear Edward sit up next to me.

"Bella, look at me," he pleaded, his hand already on my cheek, coaxing me to look up at him. His eyes were roaming my face as his thumb caressed my cheek softly. There was a special glint in his eyes, the green more intense than ever.

"You don't have to feel embarrassed or shy with me," he continued. "There's nothing to feel embarrassed about. You _are_ beautiful and I can see you're not used to hearing that." His smile was so bright it was blinding, and all I could do was smile back.

Have you ever had a feeling of butterflies in your stomach? I was feeling just like that and I loved it. It was so intense it was overwhelming, but there was nothing that could ever come close to how amazing it felt. Nothing.

Within the blink of an eye, Edward's mouth was on mine again– his lips just as soft, his touch just as gentle. I wrapped my hands around his neck to bring him closer to me as his hands cupped my face. He tilted his head to the side, just slightly, to deepen the kiss.

"I really like you, Bella," he whispered, pulling away.

"I–I really like you, too," I replied, my voice shaking.

"Thank you for coming here with me." The sincerity in his eyes was clear, his smile incredibly sweet.

"No, thank _you_ for trusting me enough to show me this," I said, motioning around us with my hand. "It's really beautiful… A– a place my mom would love to see…"

"What's wrong?" Edward whispered, his face contorting into something that looked like pain. He wiped a tear I didn't know I had shed. "Bella, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Shaking my head, I blinked rapidly, trying to get rid of the tears. There was a reason I tried not to think about my mom when I was around other people. It still hurt. Like hell.

"Nothing? Bella, people don't cry for nothing. Just tell me what's wrong; you're worrying me."

"I'm sorry, Edward. I'm so sorry," I apologized. I covered my mouth with both of my hands in an attempt to stop the sobs that were threatening to leave my throat. This proved to be difficult, as images of the accident kept flashing before my eyes. It was as if I was living it all over again.

"What are you sorry about? Bella?"

Edward's voice was getting desperate, but there was nothing I could do about it. I had never had a break down in front of anyone else before, given the months I spent learning how to control my emotions around other people. Or so I thought. It clearly wasn't working; I was on the verge of a sobbing fit right in front of Edward.

I kept chanting "I'm sorry" in my head. It had all been perfect, but as always, I had to ruin it.

Before I knew it, I was in Edward's arms and he was hugging me closely to his body. "Shhh, Bella. It's okay," he whispered in an attempt to calm me down, rubbing my back and wiping the tears that had started falling again.

I had tried so hard not to think about my mom, but when her memory flashed through my mind, I couldn't help the wave of guilt that hit me as Edward held me in his arms. Logically, I knew I shouldn't feel guilty for getting lost in the painful memory; she was my mom after all. I should think about her all the time. In a way she was always there. It was only when I avoided thinking about her that I felt like I was neglecting her very existence. That brought on another round of tears and fresh pain to my heart. I was torn between the guilt of thinking about my mother and breaking down in front of Edward, and the innate guilt I felt whenever I tried to push her memory from my mind.

We stayed like that for a while, Edward holding me while I cried away.

After the tears ceased, I rested my head between Edward's neck and shoulder while snaking my arms around his waist. Breathing him in, I tried to get my heartbeat back to normal, but Edward just kept holding me tight and caressing my hair.

"I'm really sorry, Edward."

"Bella, please stop saying that," he whispered, his voice pained. "Could you please tell me what's wrong? Are you feeling sick? What is it?"

"No, I'm okay now. I just–" Thinking about it for a few seconds I decided it would be better to just tell him everything. He was going to find out eventually. "I– Do you remember when we met? At the Hospital?"

Nodding, Edward motioned for me to keep going. "I guess we never really talked about it. The reason why I was there… I– I was… I had…" I stammered, nervously fidgeting with my hands behind his back.

"Bella, stop," Edward pleaded. He brought his hands to my face once again, caressing my cheeks with his thumbs. "I know we haven't talked about that, and honestly we don't have to, not now. I can't see you like this, I just can't!" Taking his hands abruptly away from me, he shook his head furiously.

"But–"

"No, Bella. When you feel better we'll talk about whatever it is you want, just not…" he broke off suddenly, covering his mouth with his hands, his eyes wide as he seemed to realize something. "Oh, God, Bella! I'm such an idiot, how could I not have seen this!"

"Uh, what?" I asked, confused.

"I– you don't have to tell me anything. I know. It's because of your… your mother, isn't it? I'm such an idiot!"

"Oh," I whispered, somewhat surprised he knew anything about my mom. Then again, as long as I lived in Forks, everyone would know everything about me. That's the thing with small towns.

"I'm so sorry. I heard about it at school, I think?" Edward seemed deep in thought as he pulled viciously at his hair. "I'm really sorry this happened to you, Bella."

"Edward, let go of your hair, you're going to hurt yourself." He slowly tore his hands from his hair as I crossed my legs and turned to face him again. "It's okay. I'm okay, it's just that sometimes it gets to be too much, you know? I miss her." Wiping the lone tear running down my cheek, I smiled at Edward, showing him I was fine.

"I know," he whispered, his voice barely audible.

"We had an accident. She came here to drive me back to Phoenix for her birthday, but we…didn't… She didn't survive, her husband …didn't…survive either…only I did." Looking up at the sky, I continued, "Sometimes I wish it was me, instead of her. I wonder if it will ever get better."

"I can't answer that, Bella, but maybe if you give it time it will. It's still very recent, you have to wait; time will lessen the pain..."

Edward's distant look and sad eyes while he talked to me made me wonder what he had been through himself. He was adopted so maybe he had lost his parents too, and not only one but both of them. Or worse, they could have left him. I couldn't understand what would make a parent leave their own child.

"Yeah, I guess so," I said, staring up at the blue sky again. "Why were you there?"

"Huh?"

"Why were you there, at the Hospital that day?" I clarified.

Edward stared at me wide-eyed for a few seconds, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to say something.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean– It's okay you don't have to tell me, we don't have to talk about–"

"An accident," he cut me off. "I had an accident, too. I was driving… I don't… I can't– I'm sorry I can't really talk about it," he whispered apologetically. He was staring, but not really seeing me. He had the same distant look in his eyes, his face void of any emotion.

"It's okay, it doesn't matter."

"No, it's not that I don't want to tell you, Bella… I just– I just can't remember it," he finished, lowering his eyes to our hands intertwined between us.

"Oh, you don't remember anything? At all? Why is that?"

"Hey, do you want a sandwich?" he asked all of a sudden. I understood that was his way of saying he didn't want to talk about it.

We had our snacks and went back to lying on the blanket, talking about inconsequential things. Edward never mentioned anything accident-related again, but I knew he was thinking about it. The distant look in his eyes never left. He would laugh and make jokes with me, but there was a part of him that wasn't there anymore.

I did my best to make him get back to me, telling him about my most embarrassing moments. He laughed for a good five minutes when I told him about the day I tripped, right as I was getting in line in the cafeteria. I managed to fall over the boy in front of me and knock him and about ten kids to the ground. What made him laugh even harder was the fact that I wasn't even ten years old and I was able to cause such a huge disaster.

With a glare I shook Edward by the shoulders, trying to get him to stop laughing. "Will you stop now? It wasn't funny, I hurt myself!"

"And about ten other kids," he laughed.

"Well, yeah, but… Edward!" I tried using my most threatening glare, but he only kept laughing, if not more than before. When I started pouting he decided to give up.

"Okay, okay I'm stopping," he said, hugging his stomach and wiping his eyes. "I can't believe you were so accident prone at that age." The grin on his face was still in place, and bigger than ever.

"Would you stop grinning now?" I spat angrily.

"You look so cute when you're angry," Edward said, still grinning.

"God! Will you stop making fun of me?"

"You look even cuter when you pout," he whispered, running his thumb over my lower lip. A sweet smile gracing his face now, for which I was grateful.

The sky was starting to darken by the time we got everything together to leave. We shared an amazing afternoon together, despite everything. If I knew Edward could make such delicious sandwiches I would have asked him to make some more. There were still a few things I needed to know about Edward, but only time could tell when we could share them.

I held his hand tightly on our way back to the car, afraid I would trip even more because of the lack of light. Luckily I made it without a scratch.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Edward asked me, when we arrived at my house.

"Yes, of course," I replied, smiling at his sudden hesitation.

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said, leaning in and giving my lips a soft kiss. "Good night, Bella."

"Good night." Getting out of his car, I half walked, half ran to the porch, rapidly unlocking the door and stepping inside.

On my way upstairs I noticed Charlie lying on the couch, snoring away. I smiled and walked toward him. I shook him lightly to wake him up, but he wouldn't move. "Dad?" I whispered, shaking him again.

"Uh? What? Where?" he asked, jumping up from the couch, startled and looking around like crazy.

"Dad, it's just me, calm down," I said, snickering at him. "Did you have dinner, yet?"

"Bella?" I nodded. "Oh, yeah, sorry I didn't wait for you. Where were you?"

"Um… I went out?" I said, though it sounded more like a question. Diverting my eyes, I started walking to the kitchen, hoping he would settle with that and let it go. I wasn't exactly sure what I should tell him either. The way he was looking at me told me he wasn't convinced. "I went out with, uh, Edward… Cullen."

"Cullen?" he asked, more to himself than to me. "Oh! Dr. Cullen's boy! …wait, which one is this …Edward?"

"I don't know, um... the one with bronze hair?" I said, not really sure how should I describe him, yet fully aware that he didn't need to hear all the things crossing my mind at the moment. "Well, I'm going to bed, Dad. Good night," I rapidly continued.

Not giving him time to say anything else, I ran up the stairs to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, put my PJs on and went to bed. It didn't take long for sleep to claim my body. The last thing that crossed my mind before I fell asleep was Edward's beautiful smiling face.

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Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Please review.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Author's Note: Hello everyone! (: It's been a long time, I know, but for my credit I had exams up until yesterday! :s**

**Either way, here's Chapter 18! (: It's my Xmas gift for you! Thank y'all for reading and reviewing, it means a lot. And thank you to the betas**** Luinvinial**** and ****LHarkcom**** for helping me out this time. (:**

**With no further ado, I'll leave you to read. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 18**

**Edward's POV**

"Edward! If you don't hurry up we're leaving you!" Alice screamed from downstairs, effectively disturbing my calming shower.

I stepped out of the water, dried myself quickly and wrapping a towel around my lower body, I went into my room. Opening the door I shouted, "As if, Alice! I'm the one driving!"

Her silence said enough. Deciding I was in a good mood now, I took my time dressing, not because I really cared about how I looked, but because pissing Alice off would make my day. I put on the first thing I could grab, which turned out to be a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. On my way to the door I took my jacket out and grabbed my books for the day.

"Finally," exclaimed Alice, when she saw me at the bottom of the staircase. She stood next to Jasper, her arms crossed in front of her while she angrily glared at me. Jasper, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly what my intentions were because he was trying really hard not to burst out laughing.

"I'm so sorry, Ali. Did I make you wait long?"

Muttering something angrily under her breath, Alice stomped out of the house. The second the door closed I burst out laughing. It didn't take long for Jazz to join me.

When we finally made it to the car, a very angry Alice sat in the backseat. I knew if it weren't for the fact that her car was at the mechanic and that she refused to ride on Jasper's bike because it could ruin her hair, she wouldn't be here. Even more, she wouldn't talk to me for around a day. Giving it a moment's thought, I realized it wouldn't be good for me to have Alice against me. So giving her my most convincing innocent face I said, "I'm sorry, Ali. I was just joking around. Please don't be mad!"

Titling her face, she studied my face for a few seconds, deep in thought. "With one condition," she finally said.

_Oh God. This is going to be bad_, I thought to myself.

"Tell me where you went and what you did yesterday."

Snickering, I shook my head. In all honesty I thought Alice would have asked me that question right after I got home yesterday, but to my surprise she didn't. Jasper would have to do with that.

The house was oddly quiet after I got home the night prior, for which I couldn't have been happier. Esme and Carlisle went to bed early, as did everyone else, it seemed. I remembered grabbing something to eat before heading for my bed.

It had been an amazing, yet exhausting day.

"I went out with Bella, and that's all you're getting out of me."

"I knew it!" Alice exclaimed, throwing her fist in the air.

I rolled my eyes at her. "Who didn't, Alice?"

Clearly choosing to take my question as rhetorical, she started babbling about how she knew everything and how cute we looked together. She even mentioned something about Bella spelling the beans and that we could do a double date sometime soon.

Once again I chose to ignore her. If Alice were given the chance she would make you do every single thing that popped into her mind. And that wasn't always a good idea.

Truthfully I was excited to see Bella again. I was getting used to having her around me all the time– even more, I was getting addicted to her kisses.

When we arrived at school I parked next to Rose's car. She and Emmett stood next to it, in what could only be described as very public display of affection, or making out like crazy if you wish. I grimaced; they were never going to get better at this. I was sure of it.

Looking around I noticed Bella's truck wasn't there yet. With nothing better to do, I started to randomly play with my phone. "Alice? What are you doing here? Weren't you late for classes?" I teased her some more, not looking up from my phone.

"Just shut up, Eddie," she replied, playfully shoving my shoulder.

Not a moment later did I hear Bella's recognizable and deafening car sound. She parked a few places away from us. I could see her face from where I stood; a frown was on her forehead as she concentrated on parking correctly. Without waiting for her to get out, I walked toward her truck.

"Hey, you," I called behind her.

Turning around with a smile she replied, "Good morning." I could already see the blush rising on her face, and I couldn't help the hand that came to rest against her cheek.

As if on cue, the bell rang as I was about to lean in to give her a good morning kiss. I sighed. "We better go to class."

Bella nodded at me, and before I could say anything else, Alice came bouncing our way and took her away from me. I stood there motionless until Jasper called out for me, reminding me we had a class to attend.

After the dance we had on Saturday, there were gossip and whispers everywhere. It took the teacher quite a few minutes to get the class silent so he could begin his lesson. I couldn't get a hold of Bella until lunch break arrived. Even then, Alice wouldn't let me get so much as a word out. Only when lunch was over did I realize she was taking her revenge on me.

"Hey, dude," Jasper said to me. "The Coach was talking to me earlier, and he asked me if we wanted to join the team. What do you think?"

"Now? Hasn't the game season started already?" I asked uncertainly.

"Yeah, but he has some injured players and was going to do some try-outs again soon. He wondered if maybe we wanted to join."

"Have you told Emmett about it?" I asked.

"Yeah, he said he was in. So, what do you think? It could be fun, right?"

"Yeah, maybe. I'll think about it."

"Okay, you do that. Just remember that the try-outs are on Friday," he said, patting my back before getting up from the table and walking to his next class– Alice right next to him.

"We better get going," said Emmett, leaving the table along with Rosalie.

"We'll talk later, Bella," Rose said, winking at her.

I looked at Bella quizzically, trying to figure out what Rose wanted.

_Possessive._

_No, I'm not!_

_Yes you are!_

_No! I was just curious!_

"You don't want to know," Bella said, breaking me free of my inner monologue.

Choosing to believe her rather than having stupid chats with myself, I let it go. Not long after, Bella and I headed for our Biology class. The classroom was almost full when we got there, and it was chaotic. There were people sitting on tables, paper planes flying around, squealing girls, and everything you could imagine.

"God! What happened to these people over the weekend," I said, speaking more to myself than to anyone else.

"I sure don't know it, but it's crazy here," Bella replied.

"Hey, Bella!" someone shouted from the back of the room. I sighed; I knew whom that voice belonged to. _Mike freaking Newton._

"Mike, how are you?" Bella asked him politely.

"I'm good, I'm good."

"Mike," I said, acknowledging him with a nod.

"Edward," he replied, just as stiffly. "Well, Bella, I just wanted to say I'm sorry. You know, I wasn't in my best behaviors the other day…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck in what seemed to be a nervous manner.

"You mean at the party?"

"Yeah… you know. The guys made me drink a bit more than what I'm used to…"

"We noticed," I whispered, hoping no one would hear me, but failing miserably. Not only did Mike hear me and shoot me a glare, but Bella heard it too, kicking me under the table and glaring at me.

"No worries, Mike. It's okay," Bella kept going, as if I hadn't even spoken.

"Oh, great! I'll see yah later, then." With an awkward wave, Mike was finally out of our view.

Turning to me, Bella glared with everything she had. "What was that about?"

"I'm sorry, okay? I just don't like that guy, what do you want me to do?" I asked, shrugging.

"He's a good guy, Edward. You could at least be polite."

"Yes, mommy," I said, nodding.

"Oh, stop that." She laughed, and playfully slapped my arm, which actually hurt.

Biology was dead boring. If it weren't for Bella sitting next to me I was sure I would have fallen asleep within minutes. Mr. Banner kept on talking and talking about some DNA stuff, and how cool it all was. I tried to ignore him the best I could by drawing on my notebook, playing with my pen. I even started composing a new tune I had in mind, but eventually it stopped working.

There was a moment when Bella had to shake my arm to get me back to reality; I was practically sleeping with my eyes open –as if that were possible. Her face was telling me _'What the hell, Edward?' _but there was nothing I could do to make the time go faster. In response,I just shrugged my shoulders and took her hand under the table.

I played with her fingers for almost half of the class; it was the only thing keeping me awake. Besides, I could see her smiling from the corner of my eye, which could only mean that she liked what I was doing. Her hands were very small in comparison to my own hands, as if they were fragile. Yet they were so soft, and warm!

When the bell finally rang I almost jumped out of my seat for being so distracted with Bella's soft hand. She just laughed at me and took her hand away.

"Don't," I whined like a little kid, pouting and taking her hand in mine again.

She laughed again, leaned in and gave me a small kiss on the lips. Oh, but I wasn't letting her go with just one little kiss, not this time. So I leaned into her and gave her what should be a kiss, a real kiss. Her lips parted, granting me entrance, letting me fully taste her.

"You should have done that before. I'm sure it would have kept me awake," I told her as we broke apart.

A loud whistle blew next to us, nearly making me jump again and fall off my seat. I looked up to find Emmett, standing right there, grinning widely.

"Dude!"

"Oh, shut up, Eddie. Let's go. I need your brain for Calculus."

"I'm going." I shushed him away. "I'll see you in P.E. Okay?" I turned toward Bella.

"Agh! Don't remind me," she said grimacing.

After giving her another kiss, I went after my annoying brother.

I can't say I had a good time during Calculus either. Emmett took his time teasing me. I had come to realize that one of his greatest pleasures was making jokes about me, simply to annoy the crap out of me.

For the most part I ignored him, but let me tell you; it's not easily done. Not with Emmett, at least. I still found it hard to understand why he even wanted me there; he wasn't even trying to understand what the teacher was saying. I could probably be on a higher level, and not having to endure this boring Math class, but what don't we do for a brother –and a promise of not having to do the dishes for the rest of the year, of course.

"So, Eddie," Emmett started.

"If you don't stop calling me _'Eddie'_ I'm not going to talk to you anymore," I cut him off, glaring.

"So, _Edward_," he began again, saying my name as if it were hard for him. "when are you gonna introduce her?"

"Introduce her who?"

"Bella, you dumbass," he said, rolling his eyes at me like it was obvious he was talking about Bella.

"Who do I need to introduce her to? You all already know her."

"Mom doesn't… Well, Dad doesn't either …as your girl!" he shouted, throwing his arms in the air.

"Mr. Cullen," the teacher called Emmett's attention.

I heard him curse under his breath before raising his head and replying. "Yes, miss?"

"What would be the easiest way to solve this equation?" she asked, moving to the side so Emmett could see what she had just written on the board.

I was trying really hard not to laugh out loud the whole time, but when I saw it I actually pitied him. I knew that if Emmett tried he could do well in math; he just didn't care enough to do so. The teacher wasn't being nice either –not that she wanted to be in the first place, but still, I knew there was no way he could get out of this one.

"Maybe you could… uh, you know, do the stuff you always do…" he said lamely. I snorted; he could have come up with something better if he was going to say something stupid.

"Which is…?" she pressured, glaring.

When Emmett started looking back and forth between me and the teacher desperately, I couldn't take it anymore. I tried covering my mouth in order to stop myself from laughing, but I didn't catch it in time. A half laugh escaped my mouth before I could do it.

"Well, maybe your brother can help you?" she asked, turning to me then.

The class had fallen silent the moment she called Emmett's attention, and now all eyes were on me. Mrs. Denali was known for been very strict. She was very young and could easily pass as someone not being taken very seriously because of the way she looked. _She was too hot to be a Math teacher_, to quote the boys. She certainly proved them all wrong though, things in her class went as she wanted them to go. Those were the words she had used the very first day of classes, or so I've heard.

"So, Mr. Cullen. Are you going to solve it?" she asked again, motioning for me to get up and get the pen she was handing me.

"Sure," I replied. I got up and walked up to the board. It wasn't exactly easy to solve it, I must admit, but I managed it.

"Well done, Mr. Cullen," she told me. I nodded and got back to my seat while she continued with her class.

"Thank goodness." Emmett breathed a sigh of relief when I sat down. "I thought she was gonna make me do it."

I was glad when the class was finally over. I gathered my things and practically flew out of the classroom with Emmett following.

"Dude! You haven't answered me yet!" he shouted from behind me.

"Why, Emmett, I'll take her home tomorrow! Are you happy now?"

"Very," he smirked.

"Why are you so interested anyway?"

"No reason," he said diverting his eyes and pretending to be looking for Rose.

"Emmett! Why?" I asked again. He kept on ignoring me, while I started at him. "It was Alice, wasn't it? She made you ask me all this, didn't she?"

"Oh, there's Rose!" he said, cutting me off and running towards an imaginary Rose because she was nowhere to be seen and within seconds he was gone too. That only proved me right. Alice had asked him to ask me all those questions. I just needed to find out why.

I saw Bella again in the P.E. class we had together. We were playing basketball today. The teacher made sure to get the boys separated from the girls, as it would be too much of an advantage on our side. I could see Bella from where I stood; she was talking to the coach, probably begging him not to let her play. She didn't get away with it though; he sent her right back to the game.

I didn't play much, to be honest. None of us did, really. We were too entertained watching the girls play; it was amazing how bad their aim was. The few times that Bella got the ball, she managed to pass it rather quickly without hurting anybody. Which was saying a lot, and I told her so.

"Stop laughing at me!" she whined as we walked towards the parking lot at the end of the class.

"I'm not laughing! I was just pointing it out," I said innocently.

"Whatever you say," she replied, pretending to be mad at me.

"Hey, we need to talk about something," I started, remembering my earlier conversation with Emmett.

Emmett's asking didn't surprise me that much. I mean, it did surprise me it was him. I would have thought Alice would be the first to ask, or maybe she had already assumed I had asked Bella. I didn't know. To be honest, I had been thinking about it. I just assumed that as she hadn't said anything, she just wasn't ready.

"Edward?" Bella asked, bringing me back to reality.

"What?"

"I said, yes, we need to talk." She didn't look exactly happy and that scared me. "Uh, well… yesterday when I got home my dad was there. He asked me where I was and all… I sort of told him I went out with you and now… I, um… he wants to meet you," she said, nervously fidgeting with her hands. "I told him we weren't… you know… but…"

Now I knew Alice's reason to send Emmett to ask me all those questions. Bella had most likely told her about her Dad. As Alice had to mess with everyone else's life she had sent Emmett to do her dirty job. I was sure of it.

Bella had stopped talking and was looking up at me with big, scared eyes. That's when I realized that I had been silent for a while and, Bella being Bella, was probably thinking the worst.

"Uh, yeah, that's what I wanted… to talk to you about. I know we haven't put a label on our relationship yet and well, I… I think we…" I stammered, searching for the right words.

Bella was looking expectantly at me while I tried to organize my thoughts.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" I all but blurted out.

_So much for searching for the right words! And what a romantic place I had chosen to ask her in! _I was an idiot.

Bella's smile, though, was telling me otherwise. She nodded, smiling brightly at me.

"Good. Now, _my_ Bella, I'd like to introduce you to my parents," I said, snaking my arms around her waist and bringing her closer to me. "I bet my mom is dying to meet you, because there's no doubt in my mind that Alice has already told her everything about you." I laughed.

"I'd love to meet her too," she said sweetly.

"Great! What do you think about tomorrow after school?"

Not being able to take it anymore, I leaned in and kissed her. She was smiling through the kiss and I couldn't help but smile too.

"Tomorrow it is," she said, after we broke apart. "Would you like to have dinner with me today, then?" Bella asked, smiling mockingly at me.

"Does your dad have a gun?" I asked, pretending to be scared.

_You're not pretending_. Shut up!

"Well, why Edward, he's a cop after all." She laughed. "But don't worry, he'll behave, I promise you."

"You better keep that promise."

"Aw, little Eddie is scared of meeting the Chief?" And that was _Emmett._

"Don't be like that Emmett. What if Rose's dad was a cop, wouldn't you be scared?" Bella interjected for me.

I looked at Emmett, daring him to say it wouldn't, because I was sure he would be as scared as hell. Before he could even say anything Rosalie stepped in, saying that he wouldn't even try to meet her dad, were he related at all with the police. Laughing at Emmett's expense for a change, we all headed home. Though laughing, my mind wouldn't rest until I was sure I could survive meeting Chief Sawn over dinner –introducing myself as his only daughter's boyfriend.

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**Author's Note: Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it! (:**

**I'd like to wish you all Happy Holidays! Have a great time with your family and friends! *group hug***

**Thank you for coming all the way here with me! I really appreciate it! Now leave me a review? (:**


	19. Chapter 19: Meetings

**Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.

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**Author's Note: Hello everyone! Chapter 19 has arrived soon this time! ;) It's an especial date today, in case you didn't notice. d: Today it's been a whole year since I posted my very first chapter, it actually was with this fic! (:  
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**So today I need so give some special thanks to the ones that have been with me since day one! You know I love you! (: And of course thank you all for always reviewing, you always manage to make me smile. (: I shall not forget the amazing betas I had this time****: Pineandapple and ! Thank you both!**

**I hope you all had a great time during the Holidays, and all my best wishes for the year that's beginning.**

**Now I'll let you read!  
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**Enjoy!

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**Chapter 19: Meetings**

**Bella's POV  
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"Dad, would you stop? You promised me you'd behave!" Charlie sat on his favorite spot on the couch, cleaning his gun. I, on the other hand, stood in front of him, hands on my hips and glaring at him. He had promised me he wouldn't make jokes about guns while Edward was here, but I was really starting to doubt him.

"Bella, I'm just cleaning it." Shrugging apathetically, he took a sip of his beer. "Why are you so nervous, anyway?"

"I don't know!" I almost shouted, making Charlie look at me sternly. "Sorry," I muttered, heading to the kitchen to start dinner.

Cooking helped me get my mind off of things and calm down a little bit. I didn't know why I was so nervous, really. Maybe I feared Charlie wouldn't approve of Edward, or that Edward would run far away after meeting Charlie. Or maybe, just maybe, I was afraid of both things.

When I had woken up that morning to find that Charlie was still in the house, I knew there was something wrong. We had breakfast in silence, most of it, at least. I was clearing the table when he finally decided to speak. Clearing his throat a few times he began, going straight to the point.

I don't know how I didn't see it coming; after my evasive answer the night prior, questions would certainly follow. Although stammering a bit in the beginning, he didn't hesitate to ask me if Edward was my boyfriend. That alone left me frozen in my spot, my face completely red.

In spite of myself –and considering I didn't know for sure if we were in _that_ kind of relationship then– my voice had sounded calm. Yet I couldn't have said much, as he cut me off, saying he wanted to meet Edward. And then he was gone.

A knock on the door brought me back from my reverie with a jump. I looked at Charlie to see if he was going to get the door, but seeing him comfortably sitting there, I knew he wouldn't. It was better that way, I suppose. Yet, I muttered, "Don't hurt yourself," when I walked past him. He just smirked at me.

The first thing I saw when I opened the door were Edward's big, scared green eyes. I would have laughed from seeing him so nervous if I weren't as nervous as he was. So, instead, I just smiled apologetically at him, letting him in.

When Charlie saw Edward, he instantly got up from the couch. After a minute, neither of them looked like they were talking any time soon, though, so I had to step in.

"Dad, this is Edward. Edward, my dad, Charlie." I motioned between them.

Edward moved first, saying, "Chief Swan, I'm Edward Cullen. Pleasure to meet you, Sir."

Charlie nodded stiffly, eying him in an odd way, even for him. "Likewise," was all he said, taking Edward's extended hand for a shake.

_Okay_, I thought to myself, _talk about awkward…_

If I was being honest, that was one of the oddest moments I had to go through in my life. I didn't know whether I wanted to laugh, cry or run away screaming.

"So…" I began, but I quickly shut my mouth, as I had no idea what to say. In an impulse, I took Edward's hand in mine, squeezing it. Instantly, Charlie's eyes flew to our joined hands, then up to Edward's face, before finally looking into my eyes.

"I need to finish dinner. Edward, help me set the table," I said in a rush, dragging Edward into the kitchen with me. Charlie stood there staring after us, until he finally snickered and went back to watching his game.

_I knew it! He just wanted to annoy me!_

I practically ran into the kitchen. Letting go of Edward's hand, I went to check dinner to make sure everything was all right. After doing so– twice– I sighed, resting against the kitchen counter. I chanced a glance at Edward, who stood there, staring at me.

"Uh, sorry about that," I whispered at him, not looking up from my hands.

I felt him moving towards me, before I heard his voice right next to me. "It's okay. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." He smiled, leaning in and giving me a small kiss on the lips.

I smiled back at him, stepping on my tiptoes to kiss him again. That's when we heard Charlie coughing loudly. I sighed again, looking into Edward's eyes, trying to convey to him my apology.

While I finished dinner, Edward helped me by setting up the table. Dinner was okay, though still awkward, Charlie was behaving, for the most part. He asked Edward numerous questions; it actually looked like he was interrogating a criminal, and not the boy I was introducing to him as my boyfriend.

To say I had to glare at him a few times was an understatement. He only needed to ask Edward if he was planning on marrying me, and it would be it! He asked him everything that came into his mind, and while Edward always answered politely, I could see some of the questions bothered him.

It's not like I blamed him. I wouldn't be polite if someone asked me what happened to my parents. Charlie knew Edward was adopted, yet he couldn't just have asked like that. Edward got tense immediately, his grip on the fork tightening as he lowered his eyes. _"I don't know, sir," _he had said, as a very uncomfortable silence settled on us.

I think Charlie realized he had screwed up big time, because, after that, he only asked trivial questions. I could see his surprised expression when he found out that Edward was into sports. There was no better way of getting into Charlie's good graces than talking sports. I didn't talk much during their conversation, yet I was infinitely glad for the change of subject, not only because I felt I could eat in peace, but because I could see Edward relaxing by the minute.

I smiled to myself when I got up to wash the dishes and Charlie left the kitchen, inviting Edward along to watch the game with him. I could hear Charlie shouting at the screen from where I stood, telling the players what they should do, as if they could hear him. What surprised me, though, was that Edward was agreeing with him. He seemed just as enthusiastic as Charlie was.

I was finishing with the dishes when Edward came back into the kitchen. Silently, he started helping me put everything in its right place, despite my protests, of course.

"Edward, really, leave it! You can watch the game, I don't mind," I said, for what felt like the millionth time in a minute.

"Neither do I," he replied again. He was smiling crookedly at me while putting the last plate into the cabinet.

I sighed. It was more of a _that-smile-is-killing-me_ kind of sigh though, and he knew it. I looked briefly into the living room to check that Charlie was sufficiently entertained, before leaning into Edward for a kiss. I touched my lips to his briefly at first, still amazed at how soft his lips seemed to be.

I could feel Edward smiling through the kiss as he snaked his arms around my waist to bring me closer to him. I tried to keep in mind that Charlie was in the room next to us, and that he could hear everything that was happening in here if he paid attention. Having Edward's lips over my own, though, made that task a whole lot more complicated.

It wasn't until I heard Charlie coughing behind me –again –that I realized I had failed miserably.

"Sorry," I mumbled, blushing furiously.

Charlie muttered something under his breath before leaving the kitchen again. Not before casting Edward one last warning glare, though. If looks could kill, Edward would be dead, indeed. I now knew the little Charlie liked Edward before, was now gone. And it was because of my inability to control myself that it happened.

"I guess I better get going," Edward uttered, looking out the window to the already darkened sky. It looked like it could start raining at any minute.

"Okay," I said, a little disappointed that he had to leave already. "I'll walk you out."

On our way out, Edward thanked Charlie for dinner, shaking his hand again. Charlie muttered his reply as politely as he could; he seemed to be a bit upset, though.

"It looks like there's a storm coming." Edward sighed.

I nodded. I could feel the cold air blowing a little too forcefully, and the sky looked darker than normal. There certainly was a storm coming, and it seemed it was going to be a big one.

"I'll see you tomorrow at school?" Edward took my hand and brought me closer to him for a hug. "And don't forget it's your turn tomorrow."

"My turn?" I asked against his chest, slightly confused.

"Yeah, to meet _my_ family," he clarified.

"Right," I replied, already starting to feel nervous about it. "And again, I'm sorry about Charlie. He gets overprotective sometimes."

"I know, I get it. And hey," he put one finger under my chin, making me looked up at him, "You don't need to be nervous."

"How did you –?"

"I know you, Bella. Better than you think." He smiled sweetly at me again, giving me one last kiss before leaving.

I watched his car disappear into the night before getting into the house again. To my surprise, Charlie was waiting for me with the TV on mute. Silently, he motioned for me to take a sit next to him, and so I did.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off before he could say a word. "If it's something bad about Edward, I don't want to hear it."

"It's not… Bella, listen. Are you sure you want to be with him…?"

"What? Why are you asking me that? I understand if you don't like him, Dad. I do, but it's really not your decision to make." I was getting angry, and he knew it.

"I didn't mean it like that, Bella. I mean… how well do you know this boy? Since when have you two been together?" He seemed sincerely concerned about me, so I calmed down a bit, but just a _little_ bit.

"What's with the interrogation, Dad?" I asked, my voice a little softer this time. "I like him, the rest doesn't matter." Needless to say, I was blushing.

"Love isn't everything, Bella. Do you even know anything about his life before he got here?"

I knew he was talking about Mom when he said that love wasn't everything, and that made my heart ache. "I didn't say I _loved_ him, Dad. _God_, I just _like_ him, that's all. And why do you keep asking me that? Is there something I should know?" I narrowed my eyes at him, daring him to say whatever it was on his mind.

"Yes –No! It's just that… I–I just hope you know what you're doing, Bella." The sadness in his eyes was foreign to me. "I just want what's best for you."

"I know that, Dad. That's why I love you." I smiled. "I'm going to bed now; I still have classes tomorrow. Will you stay for breakfast again?"

"Not tomorrow, kid," he said, messing with my hair. "Have a lot of paperwork to sort through back at the station."

"Okay, then. Goodnight, Dad." I kissed his cheek before heading for the stairs.

"Night, kid."

-:-:-:-:-

I can't say I had a good night's sleep. Charlie's insistence in asking if I really knew Edward didn't help the nerves that were crawling into me about meeting Edward's family… or rather just his Mom, because I already knew the rest.

The same question lingered on my mind for most of the night. _What if she doesn't like me? _Yes, she wasn't Edward biological mother, but that didn't mean he didn't think of her as so. Edward was the first to be adopted by the Cullens, which could only mean she would be even more protective of him.

_Esme will love you, trust me!_ Alice's voice rang in my head over and over again, but that did nothing to lessen my nerves.

I went through my morning shower and breakfast in a numb state. I did everything I had to do, but I couldn't bring myself to focus on anything. I tried paying as much attention as I could while driving to school though, otherwise, I would end up against a tree or something like that.

I greeted the Cullens on the parking lot before getting to my first class. Edward gave me a good morning kiss, and I even remember smiling at him before being dragged away by Alice, like every other day. She chatted animatedly about a new shop that had opened in Port Angeles until the teacher started the class.

Everything else was more of a blur. During lunch time, I could feel Edward's worried eyes on me. I tried smiling at him, but he didn't seem convinced. Once, I caught Alice looking back and forth between Edward and me, frowning.

Biology was more of the same. I was still in a daze, not sure what was wrong with me, and starting to worry about it a little. Edward's eyes on me weren't helping, not at all. I could feel him looking at me from time to time, worry written all over his face.

"Bella?" he started asking once, but Mr. Banner called his attention immediately. When the class was over, he didn't linger long as he was sent to the office to deliver some papers that Mr. Banner asked him to.

I only saw him back again during P.E. My mood then was even darker. Not only did I hate P.E, but the fact that I had had little to no sleep didn't help my coordination. I got hit in the head with the ball at least three times. I think that that helped me to wake up a little bit, because by the time the class was over, I felt a lot better. Maybe it was the anger I felt towards Lauren for hitting me repeatedly, or maybe it was just the hit that unclouded my mind. I wasn't sure.

After I'd changed into my clothes again, I waited for Edward outside of the building. I needed to ask him how to get to his house, after all.

He seemed even more worried when he saw me standing there, waiting for him. I smiled again, and this time he gave the impression of being convinced.

"How do I get to your house?" I asked, walking with him towards our cars.

"Are you feeling okay, Bella? You don't have to go if you're not feeling okay, we can go another day…" Lines of worry were creeping into his forehead again.

I raised one hand to soothe them, smiling. "I'm okay. I was just a little bit sleepy; couldn't get much sleep last night."

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"No. Not really." I took his hand then, giving it a small squeeze, as if to emphasize my words. "Stop worrying about me. I'm okay. Now tell me, how do I get to your house?"

"Okay. Um… I was going to take you from here, but there's not really room in the car." He snorted. "Just drive home, I'll leave my siblings at the house and go get you."

"Are you sure? I can follow you."

"No, no. I'll go for you," he said, smiling for a moment before kissing me.

"Okay. I'll wait for you there then!"

With one last kiss and a wave to the rest of his family, I headed home.

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**Author's Note: Thank you for reading. Please review! (:**


	20. Author's Note

**I'm going on hiatus.**

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I apologize to all of you that have been following the story since its very beginning, but I'm seeing myself unable to write lately. College is coming on full force this year on me, and my free time gets shorter and shorter. Those of you that once went (or are going) sure know what I mean.

For the time being I need to get my priorities straight. Even though I love writing, my studies come first. I haven't even been able to read the ton of updates on my inbox yet. It's just a shame. I'd love to keep doing it, but the near future shows no good prospects what-so-ever.

While I will not be updating, I still might edit the whole story. I feel I can make it better since when I started I wasn't aware of betas or anything like that. I'm not pulling, though. Someday I will edit it and replace every chapter and post the ones that are still to come.

I hope you can forgive me. I've cherished every single comment you guys have left for me. It made me improve and feel like I could write better every day. It motivated me to keep going, and it still does. You wouldn't believe how many ideas are running through my head at this very moment, I just wished I had the time to write them all down.

For those of you that want to take it from your alerts, feel free to do it. I understand. And for those of you that don't, I appreciate your faith in me. And if anyone of you wants to know what I had in mind for the rest of the story I'll have something prepared for you. I'll still be just a PM away, I just won't be updating.

Don't get mad at me, though, if you see some one-shots coming and going. I might post them because I have quite a few already written, they just need a look over. (;

I just want to thank everyone for coming all the way here with me. I'll have you in my mind. Always. Even more so to all the amazing betas that have helped me through this, enduring my endless problems with commas! Teehee! (; Last, but not least, I'm sending a huuuge hug to _Lehava_, because she's an amazing friend and person and never ever stopped encouraging me! (:

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**Thank you everyone. I will be seeing you!**


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